Officials urge people to eat invasive species devastating aquatic ecosystems: ‘The food equivalent of tilapia or rainbow trout or catfish’

Curbing Invasive Carp Population in the Mississippi River Basin

When carp were originally brought from Asia to North America, nobody suspected just how well they would thrive — or what a problem their growth would pose to their new home. Now, the residents of the Mississippi River Basin hope a unique solution can curb the invasive population and provide some delicious meals in the process.

Billions of dollars have already been spent attempting to manage the carp, the MinnPost reported. States have constructed electric barriers to prevent the species from infiltrating the Great Lakes; they’ve also offered per-pound incentives to fishermen who catch and kill the prolific invasives.

Many of these efforts have been effective, but the carp have continued to reproduce at staggering rates, outpacing any efforts to curb their population.

Rebranding Carp as a Desirable Commodity

Officials are optimistic that with the right rebranding, carp can become a desirable commodity for humans, pets, and possibly for both.

“A rebranding kind of campaign for them could potentially bring their price up, making it more economically viable for people to go fish for them,” said Ben Meadows, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Alabama Birmingham, per the MinnPost.

There’s a precedent for this suggestion: The now-popular Chilean sea bass was originally called the distinctly less appetizing Patagonian toothfish.

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“If we can get people to think that [carp] is the food equivalent of tilapia or rainbow trout or catfish … those would start to create the self-fulfilling cycle,” Meadows told the MinnPost.

Jim Garvey, zoology professor at Southern Illinois University, agreed. “Carp are perfect food in a lot of ways,” he said simply.

Utilizing Carp in Various Products

Beyond serving carp in restaurants, proponents of the eating approach also suggest that the invasive fish could be used in dog food and pet treats. Meadows said that, while the fish can often be too bony for their human customers, animal food processing centers can grind up the entire fish — bones and all — for safe use in dog food.

“This seems, just in my head, to be a perfect little merger,” he enthused.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. Goal 14: Life Below Water – Managing the invasive carp population in the Mississippi River Basin aligns with SDG 14, which aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources.
2. Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Rebranding carp as a desirable commodity promotes responsible consumption and production practices by utilizing an invasive species as a food source.
3. Goal 2: Zero Hunger – Incorporating carp into human and pet food products contributes to the goal of achieving zero hunger by providing alternative food sources.

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SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The issues highlighted in the article are connected to SDG 14: Life Below Water, SDG 15: Life on Land, and SDG 2: Zero Hunger.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s content, the specific targets that can be identified are:
– Target 14.4: By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics (under SDG 14: Life Below Water)
– Target 15.8: By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species (under SDG 15: Life on Land)
– Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality (under SDG 2: Zero Hunger)

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

No specific indicators are mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: yahoo.com