In a deal intended to help keep the invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, a Chinese meat packing company will buy fish taken from Illinois rivers to send to China where it is a delicacy.
Big River Fisheries in Pearl, Ill., will catch, process and ship at least 30 million pounds of fish by the end of next year and sell it to Beijing Zhuochen Animal Husbandry Company, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced Tuesday.
"The high quality and taste of the wild Asian carp from Big River Fish far exceeded our expectations. We see a tremendous market in China for the wild Asian carp," said Liang Chang, chairman of the Chinese purchaser, in a statement.
Illinois and federal authorities have erected electric barriers and initiated other steps to try to impede the advance of the voracious Bighead and Silver carp to the Great Lakes, where they could threaten a $7 billion commercial and recreational fishery.
The prolific carp, which can grow to over 100 pounds , have multiplied in the Mississippi River watershed and are especially numerous in the Illinois River, where passing motorboats can send the fish leaping into the air.
Man-made waterways around Chicago connect the rivers to Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes. Michigan and other Great Lakes states have filed suit demanding the link be severed.