Interesting article from Forbes about the bass fishing counterculture in Japan. Sport fishing for largemouth bass (Micropterus sp.) is actually frowned upon, and bass anglers are considered to be rude and disruptive to Japanese life. While concern has grown about the American fish harming native Japanese species, champions like Aki Hide and Takahiro Omori have ridden the bass path to fame. There are even Japanese magazines like Basser and Crazy Bass devoted to the "dark fishing" craze.
3 comments:
I started looking, because I thought it was funny that they looked down on bass while we look down on carp, and found this old 2002 story:
"We got a call from some people in Japan," he said. "They couldn't believe we were having a problem with Asian carp, because they raise them there and use them for food.
"But they do have a problem with another exotic species that is giving them trouble in some of their lakes -- the largemouth bass."
Looking for something newer, I found these signs that a market might be developing: one, two.
Maybe this is old news to your blog, and maybe I think too much with my stomach, but i think eating invasive species is an excellent way to battle them.
The "eat the invaders" idea has been bounced around for a long time between two camps: the people who think it would be a way of getting benefits from an invasion, and those who insist it will lead to further invasion by encouraging people to spread the species around to keep populations up once a market develops.
I have heard some people complain that carp is bland. But once when I was at a conference picking up carp literature at a display table, an Asian man next to me pointed and said "Delicious!" :-)
I keep a life list of invaders I have eaten, and look forward to the opportunity to try carp.
I enjoyed telling a Chinese co-worker about the asian carp invasion ... his answer was "we'll eat them."
As to whether eating would end up a net win ... I have "faith" in the human ability to eat anything into extinction.
Those states with carp should just do a few cooking shows with Chinese or Japanese chefs!
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