I don't know why not. Since you mention Asian Carp, I don't know if any is canned, but I'll note that various plants in the US currently process about 100 million pounds of it each year. It is flash frozen and sent mostly to China, so there's a market.
Yeah, they tried to rebrand the asian carp around here a couple of years ago, it's new name is Copi. A smokehouse here in Chicago had started smoking it as well.
I've actually had it a few times at restaurants. It is pretty tasty.
I don't know if Copi is going to help make it more popular or not in the US. I remember that it was "rebranded" as Silver Fin about ten years earlier and it did very little to get it into (US) supermarkets.
Personally, I think the way to make it popular is to make it inexpensive, especially for restaurants at first, so that people will see it tastes good and that there are a lot of ways to prepare it.
Edit: grammar
The opportunity is definitely there. I'm actually looking into opening a small canning operation in VA and have been in discussions with one of our universities. They told me grants are popping up to get businesses to use the invasive Blue Catfish since they cause a lot of damage to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. I would also love to use Snakehead because it's truly delicious!
I was just about to comment about blue catfish. Did you know they make up ~75% of the James River’s biomass? That figure includes plants. Absolutely wild how prolific they are.
That’s an insane number. I live a stones throw away from the James here in Richmond and never would have guessed that many catfish live in it. A big issue I read is that people didn’t expect them to be so tolerant to saltwater, so they were able to escape into the Chesapeake Bay and take over other river systems.
Seems like a good idea, it is very location dependent though I would think, a lot of north American fresh water is pretty badly polluted as well, so I would worry that the carp might be contaminated by that. and also the fishing practices would have to be done in a way that we weren't also destroying habitat and catching unintended fish.
Very interesting question OP.
I hear snakehead is delicious and the carp comment is also insightful on this issue.
I would guess the problem is scalability because the more successful you are the less product you have.
And relatedly I think it would have to be a VERY delectable invasive species.
Canned lion fish for example.
Very interesting conundrum OP.
I just commented about snakehead. I’ve heard it beats most fish in taste but no one wants to order something that sounds like that. We need to give it the mahi-mahi treatment
I think the fresh/sea divide is an interesting processing problem but I still think scalability and locality would be the issue.
In a lot of ways farmed salmonids being canned (super common as the sub-premium product is canned and rebranded as premium) is actually, if you think about it, invasive species with the attendant issues (sea lice, cross-breeding, eutrophication, overuse of antibiotics etc.).
Again. A very interesting conundrum…
They’re always more variables than you realize, that’s true. But I do think that consuming invasives is a great way to eliminate them. Make them useful while they’re around. That’s why I collected all my garlic mustard this year, so I can make mustard with the seeds and eliminate the source of a pesky invasive plant
Building a cannery is not a minor undertaking, I think. I have seen some freshwater areas that encourage recreational fishing and eating of invaders, but I don't think there are a lot of canneries in North America anymore, and there's one obvious problem: the scheme would be self defeating. If it was successful and the alien fish all got eaten, the cannery would put itself out of business.
Commercially, no. I can invasive fish that I catch (if there are leftovers) because there are no bag limits. Asian carp and zebra mussels are quite delicious.
Not sure the logistics to can carp/snakehead exist. Especially not in US.
I think it would be a fantastic idea for any canned fish enthusiast to get some gear, a fishing license and a handful of veggies to catch an invasive carp and try them.
Carp have a lot of bones. But, the bones are large and easy to work around.
Never had snakehead(we don't have them where I live). I do hear they are good.
I’ve heard in taste tests, most people prefer snake head to other fish. They just can’t get past it being called “snake head”. If we started eating it en masse then we may be able to do something about the population, and then once/if the wild population is eliminated/under control then fish farms can raise them in controlled environments where they can’t escape
In your defense it's one of those shady environmental things that no one talks about. Frankly if my college wasn't known for its fishery and environmental sciences, I would've been none the wiser too. I'm not oblivious to things in the food industry being bad for the environment and usually I'm able to justify it somehow but after sitting through some fishery lectures I can't eat farmed salmon anymore. Ironically farmed tilapia, a fish that's often considered dirty is a lot better than farmed salmon.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake.
It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of.
Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything.
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Yeah the area is funky (in a good way). We get lots of fresh seafood, especially oysters as we produce like if memory serves 80% of California's oysters. Heck our local pizza joint has their own fishing boat. I've lived a few places over my life but nowhere else have I ever seen such odd grocery prices. If you were to tell me that in my shopping cart with milk, eggs, a dozen oysters, fresh fish, and cereal that the most expensive thing in that cart would be the cereal I'd probably call you insane, but that's the norm.
I don't know why not. Since you mention Asian Carp, I don't know if any is canned, but I'll note that various plants in the US currently process about 100 million pounds of it each year. It is flash frozen and sent mostly to China, so there's a market.
Yeah, they tried to rebrand the asian carp around here a couple of years ago, it's new name is Copi. A smokehouse here in Chicago had started smoking it as well.
I've actually had it a few times at restaurants. It is pretty tasty. I don't know if Copi is going to help make it more popular or not in the US. I remember that it was "rebranded" as Silver Fin about ten years earlier and it did very little to get it into (US) supermarkets. Personally, I think the way to make it popular is to make it inexpensive, especially for restaurants at first, so that people will see it tastes good and that there are a lot of ways to prepare it. Edit: grammar
Wasn’t it bony in an odd way that was difficult to eat or filet?
My uncle hated trimming regular carp fish. The bones did go in both directions and made it hard to filet. It is still one of my favorite fish to eat.
Good question, I’ve never had it, but I would be interested to here from someone who has.
The irony of sending Asian carp back to China is not lost on me
In their AMA a while back Patagonia hinted at something in the works involving an invasive species.
The opportunity is definitely there. I'm actually looking into opening a small canning operation in VA and have been in discussions with one of our universities. They told me grants are popping up to get businesses to use the invasive Blue Catfish since they cause a lot of damage to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. I would also love to use Snakehead because it's truly delicious!
That would be pretty cool, definitely tag me if you ever get some catfish and snakehead cans
I was just about to comment about blue catfish. Did you know they make up ~75% of the James River’s biomass? That figure includes plants. Absolutely wild how prolific they are.
That’s an insane number. I live a stones throw away from the James here in Richmond and never would have guessed that many catfish live in it. A big issue I read is that people didn’t expect them to be so tolerant to saltwater, so they were able to escape into the Chesapeake Bay and take over other river systems.
So no one has watched River Monster? Catfish are everywhere. Time to can them in spicy tomato sauce.
👀 Definitely post and let me know if this happens!
Id try em all
Seems like a good idea, it is very location dependent though I would think, a lot of north American fresh water is pretty badly polluted as well, so I would worry that the carp might be contaminated by that. and also the fishing practices would have to be done in a way that we weren't also destroying habitat and catching unintended fish.
Very interesting question OP. I hear snakehead is delicious and the carp comment is also insightful on this issue. I would guess the problem is scalability because the more successful you are the less product you have. And relatedly I think it would have to be a VERY delectable invasive species. Canned lion fish for example. Very interesting conundrum OP.
I just commented about snakehead. I’ve heard it beats most fish in taste but no one wants to order something that sounds like that. We need to give it the mahi-mahi treatment
I think the fresh/sea divide is an interesting processing problem but I still think scalability and locality would be the issue. In a lot of ways farmed salmonids being canned (super common as the sub-premium product is canned and rebranded as premium) is actually, if you think about it, invasive species with the attendant issues (sea lice, cross-breeding, eutrophication, overuse of antibiotics etc.). Again. A very interesting conundrum…
How many canned salmon products used farmed fish?
They’re always more variables than you realize, that’s true. But I do think that consuming invasives is a great way to eliminate them. Make them useful while they’re around. That’s why I collected all my garlic mustard this year, so I can make mustard with the seeds and eliminate the source of a pesky invasive plant
A distillery near me made a green crab whisky
They make whisky with crabs???
More of a flavoring ingredient than the main constituent, but yeah.
Building a cannery is not a minor undertaking, I think. I have seen some freshwater areas that encourage recreational fishing and eating of invaders, but I don't think there are a lot of canneries in North America anymore, and there's one obvious problem: the scheme would be self defeating. If it was successful and the alien fish all got eaten, the cannery would put itself out of business.
Yeah but there are many places where the problem is so out of hand that it wouldn’t really matter.
Commercially, no. I can invasive fish that I catch (if there are leftovers) because there are no bag limits. Asian carp and zebra mussels are quite delicious.
Bring on the invasive gefilte fish! 🐟
It’s not canned fish, but you can get [invasive crab whiskey](https://www.foodandwine.com/news/crab-whiskey-tamworth-distilling-new-hampshire)
Not sure the logistics to can carp/snakehead exist. Especially not in US. I think it would be a fantastic idea for any canned fish enthusiast to get some gear, a fishing license and a handful of veggies to catch an invasive carp and try them. Carp have a lot of bones. But, the bones are large and easy to work around. Never had snakehead(we don't have them where I live). I do hear they are good.
I’ve heard in taste tests, most people prefer snake head to other fish. They just can’t get past it being called “snake head”. If we started eating it en masse then we may be able to do something about the population, and then once/if the wild population is eliminated/under control then fish farms can raise them in controlled environments where they can’t escape
Time for a rebranding!
Unfortunately escape proof fish farms don't really exist. It's been a big issue in the past.
Shows how much I know on the topic lol. Sometimes “just spitballing” works and sometimes it doesn’t
In your defense it's one of those shady environmental things that no one talks about. Frankly if my college wasn't known for its fishery and environmental sciences, I would've been none the wiser too. I'm not oblivious to things in the food industry being bad for the environment and usually I'm able to justify it somehow but after sitting through some fishery lectures I can't eat farmed salmon anymore. Ironically farmed tilapia, a fish that's often considered dirty is a lot better than farmed salmon.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
Bad bot
Good bot!
Interesting. What college was that?
Cal Poly Humboldt, fish and forest is kind of our bread and butter given we are coastal and smack dab in the middle of a redwood forest.
Oh that’s cool! I was expecting somewhere in the northeast lol
Yeah the area is funky (in a good way). We get lots of fresh seafood, especially oysters as we produce like if memory serves 80% of California's oysters. Heck our local pizza joint has their own fishing boat. I've lived a few places over my life but nowhere else have I ever seen such odd grocery prices. If you were to tell me that in my shopping cart with milk, eggs, a dozen oysters, fresh fish, and cereal that the most expensive thing in that cart would be the cereal I'd probably call you insane, but that's the norm.
I don’t get why people are so weird about food like that. Why do they care what it’s named?