Illinois encourages carp consumption to save native species
Abstract
The state of Illinois has started a campaign to encourage more people to eat the invasive carp fish. The campaign aims at changing the name of the carp species to "Copi," in an effort to encourage more eaters, claiming that most people avoid carp fish because of its tainted name rather than its taste. Officials are aiming at making the fish widely available in restaurants with more than two dozen distributers, retailers and processors recruited nationwide. John Goss, an Obama administration official who led efforts on carp invasion, says that this approach could be a solution. It's an abbreviation for "Copious," in reference to the booming population of the four species of invasive carp: bighead, grass, silver, and black carp. The proposed name change will remain relatively informal. The American Society of Ichthyologists and the Herpetologists and the American Fisheries Society have never recognized the term "Invasive carp" and are less likely to recognize "Copi." In the same way, the US Fish and Wildlife Services will not be adopting the name "Copi." Regulators have already spent over $600 million in attempts to keep the carp out of the Great Lake region and other waters.