As we reported earlier this month, Asian carp, the fast-growing invasive species in lakes and riversthroughout the Mississippi basin, have become a major issue in the Midwestand officials are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to stop them from entering Lake Michigan.One strategy: pay fisherman and get people to eat the carp.It's not normally a fish dish in America, but the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is serving up thousands of pounds of Asian carp a year,filling students' bellies with a cheap and local source of protein while helping solve a major invasive species problem.We got some Bighead, Grass carp and Silver carp. I'm Clint Carter.And I'm a commercial fisherman. We caught fish today in Peoria, Illinois. We caught about 4000 pounds.We went out about 7 o'clock in the morning. There were seven fish brought here today.Wow, this is a big one. These fish were alive about four hours ago.So, they're fresh. I've been working with of U of I for probably around three years now.In my career, I never met the fisherman that actually caught the fish.And it's great to know who the fisherman is. I'm Soohwa Yu.My title is production chef at the Pennsylvania Avenue Dining Hall.In the Midwest, it's hard to get fresh fish. Fortunate to have Clint bringing the fresh fish, as we need it, all the time.
