By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – It’s not that Kevin Irons is worried about the Asian carp’s self-esteem. He just wants to improve its image, all the way up to and including a new name.
The more appetizing the carp sounds, the more likely it will be to land on people’s dinner plates — as opposed to sneaking into the Great Lakes, where it would muscle out other species for food.
“They have an extremely mild flavor profile,” said Irons, assistant chief of fisheries for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “Americans like that, because we want to season it. If you want to season these like a taco meat, and make a taco, they’re fabulous. If you want to put it on the grill and have a sauce, or bread it up in a beer batter, these fish do all of that very well.”
But that name!
“Asian carp always seems to resonate,” Irons said. “Carp is a four-letter word. People say, carp.”
Irons says there’s evidence a name change – which could be announced this summer for Asian Carp – can work.
“Who would order a slimehead at a four-star restaurant?” he asked. “But if you change the name to orange roughy, it’s now one of the most popular fish — it’s now at the top of the menu at these high-end seafood restaurants.”
Irons says the result could be a formalized name change or simply a brand that more suitably communicates the state’s goals.
But this much is clear:
“We’re not going to do a bait-and-switch.”
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]
