Illinois State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-Moline, is reportedly proposing a simple solution to his state's Asian carp problem: eat them.
Jacobs wants to create a $750,000 state subsidy to help a fish-processing plant in his district retool so it can process, press, bread and sell the carp, which are estimated to number in the thousands, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.
Aside from jumping into boats and injuring people -- an action the U.S. Geological Survey compares with "being hit with a thrown bowling ball" -- the carp are causing ecological problems along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.
Although some carp heads are sold in Asian-American communities, where they are considered a delicacy, Ed Kram, owner of the Kram Fish Co. in St. Louis told the Post-Dispatch, "I don't care for the taste and they have a fair amount of bone."
He added: "I don't know what the market would be. Who wants them?"
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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