There’s a new fish on Chicago-area menus. And I will not be trying it.
Lesson summary
Hi there everyone, I’m Jeff in Chicago and this is Plain English, where JR and I help you upgrade your English with current events and trending topics. Today’s lesson is number 492 and JR has uploaded the full lesson, including the transcripts, to PlainEnglish.com/492.
On today’s lesson: A new marketing campaign has introduced “copi,” a protein-rich, low-fat fish that is already appearing on menus and in fish shops in the Chicago area. I like fish; I had a piece of cod for dinner last night. But copi will not be on the menu at my house. I’ll explain why on today’s lesson.
We’ll also talk about the English phrase, “overrun with.” And we have a quote of the week from a television journalist I used to watch as a kid.
Before we dive into the content, I wanted to remind you that we are approaching a milestone. Episode 500 is scheduled for September 5, 2022, that’s a Monday. Five hundred lessons—five hundred podcast episodes—is a big milestone. And I want all of you to be part of the celebration. So I’ve prepared a page at PlainEnglish.com/500 . When you’re done listening to today’s lesson, go to PlainEnglish.com/500 to learn about the live stream, the giveaway, and the video we’re putting together. PlainEnglish.com/500
Now we’re ready for today’s lesson:
Invasive carp threatens Great Lakes
In the 1970s, fish farmers in southern U.S. states like Louisiana had a problem. The ponds they used to cultivate their fish, and the wastewater ponds nearby , were full of algae. So they looked to China for an innovative solution from Mother Nature. They knew that four species of carp in China ate a lot of algae. The fish farmers thought it was a match made in heaven. They had an algae problem; the carp ate algae. So they brought the carp to America, to feed on the algae in their ponds. What could go wrong?
A lot: the carp eventually escaped the ponds and entered the Mississippi River, where they encountered few natural predators. They also ate a lot of the plants and other fish in the ecosystem of America’s inland rivers. Ever since , they have been creeping upward, toward the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes are the second-biggest freshwater deposit on Earth; they make up 21 percent of the planet’s fresh water. They are also a big part of American and Canadian life, including tourism—specifically boating, fishing, and other types of recreation.
Asian carp threatens the Great Lakes for several reasons. First, it could disrupt the ecosystem, much as it has done in the rivers and smaller lakes, harming native fish. That’s bad in and of itself. But it also harms the fishing industry, which is a big part of the Great Lakes economy. If the Asian carp get into the Great Lakes, it could reduce the available population of fish such as whitefish, walleye, perch, and trout native to the area. Asian carp has already crowded out native fish in the Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers.
Recreational boaters and fishermen are afraid of Asian carp, too. That’s because this is an especially disruptive fish. It can grow to 45 kilograms, almost 100 pounds—and it jumps. In fact , this fish is known for jumping out of the water and crashing into boats and fishermen. I saw one video in which a carp jumps out of the water and breaks a girl’s jaw.
So imagine you’re out on the water for a quiet morning of fishing, and a 40-kilogram fish jumps out unexpectedly and crashes into your boat. That’s not a good situation, even if you don’t have to go to the hospital.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has tried several methods to slow the Asian carp’s progress. They’ve tried poison. They’ve tried physical barriers. They’ve tried sound barriers. They’ve tried just catching them and removing them. They’ve even tried electrified barriers that are designed to kill the Asian carp as it swims by. Nothing has worked so far. The carp is continuing its northbound march.
You see where I am going with this.
The state of Illinois—my home state—borders the Mississippi River. The Illinois River, which cuts diagonally across the state, is overrun with Asian carp. And the state of Illinois has decided that if the Asian carp doesn’t have any natural predators in the water, maybe we—the residents of the Prairie State—maybe we should eat Asian carp.
If you have seen a picture of this fish—or especially if you have seen a YouTube video of this fish attacking a boat —then you can have only one possible reaction: No, thank you.
Recognizing this, the state hired a marketing agency to improve the fish’s reputation. The agency invented a new name: “copi.” Copi is short for “copious,” which is someone’s idea of a sick joke: copious means, “in abundance;” or, there’s a lot of it.
Local chefs aren’t quite sure what to make of this “new” fish. The Asian carp—I mean, the copi—is especially bony, so it’s difficult to fillet. One restaurant is grinding it up and putting it in a sandwich.
Some residents are tentatively embracing “copi.” A few are eating it as almost a civic duty: if this is required to stop the carp’s march toward the Great Lakes, some residents reasoned, then they’ll do their part and eat it.
That’s wishful thinking. Fishermen who would catch the Asian carp for restaurants or for fishmeal would naturally focus on the biggest individual fish—those hundred-pounders. But if fishing is going to slow the species, then the smaller fish need to be caught too. And for fishermen, those smaller ones are just not worth it .
Meanwhile , the effort to stop Asian carp continues. The states surrounding the Great Lakes are funding a new barrier in Joliet, Illinois, that will include electrification, bubbles, sound, and other barriers.
Not on my plate…
This fish is disgusting. I know, I know: we eat a lot of things that aren’t exactly appetizing in their natural state. But I am posting a video in the Facebook group so you can understand what I’m talking about. This is not a nice-looking fish. This is not a fish that minds its own business in the water. This is a kind of fish that will give you nightmares. So check out PlainEnglish.com/Facebook to see the video if you dare.
Those of you in Europe know a different kind of “carp.” This Asian carp is somewhat healthy; it’s not a bottom-feeder like the carp in Europe. It’s low in fat and high in protein. But I don’t care. I’m still not eating it. Maybe JR will try it and tell me how it tastes.
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