Photo courtesy of IDNR

Everyone join me in giving the Illinois Department of Natural Resources a round of applause, because they’ve come up with one of the best ideas I’ve ever heard of. The IDNR will use its program called Target Hunger Now to take the non-native invasive Asian Carp out of the river and on to the dinner plates of Illinois’ hungry.

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The Asian Carp is actually not one type of fish, but three: the Silver, Bighead and Black Carp. They were originally imported from Southeast Asia for use in keeping aquaculture facilities free of plankton, algae and other microscopic organisms. Flooding at these aquaculture plants let the fish escape into our rivers and, in recent years, populations of these fish have exploded in the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers and many of their tributaries.

The Asian Carp are a major problem for several reasons. First, they’re really big fish. The carp average 30 to 40 pounds each, but the largest can be up to 7-feet long and tip the scales at up to 150 pounds. These behemoths are voracious eaters who can consume up to 20 percent of their own body weight in algae and plankton (and, in the case of the Black variety, muscles and sturgeon eggs) per day. They also are prolific breeders, so even though some predators like eagles, pelicans, herons and some large-mouth bass have been known to eat some of the juveniles, far too many of the fish reach a size where they are too large to be eaten. Due to their number, size and appetite, they simply out-compete local fish populations.

The other major problem the carp are known for is the way that they jump. Low decibel vibrations, like the noise from a boat motor, cause the fish to launch themselves in the air. I saw this first hand on Quincy Bay while I was kayaking with Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon this summer. It was really something to see dozens of fish launch into the air when a small john boat passed us — and it’s easy to imagine that if you were in a moving boat and got struck by one of these fish, you could face potential injury.

Photo courtesy of IDNR

That’s why moving the carp from jumping in the rivers to jumping onto dinner plates seems like such a good idea. The fish is already a popular dinner item in parts of Asia and Europe, but Americans are just warming up to the idea. The Asian Carp can be quite tasty when prepared well.  Unlike native carp species, Asian Carp feed within the water column rather than off of the bottom of the river. Anyone who has tasted a particularly “muddy” catfish will know that bottom feeders are not culinary winners. Fish that feed in the water column are also lower in contaminates like methyl mercury than bottom feeders.

Target Hunger Now has already hosted many successful events in Illinois. According to its website, more than 2,000 Illinois families took advantage of the donated venison (deer) program last year. Target Hunger Now hopes that as much as 40,000 pounds of fish can be processed daily. They also expect to distribute 100,000 pounds of venison this year through the Illinois food bank system. This equates to approximately 3.3 million protein-rich meals available free to those who are facing hunger in our communities. And a bonus: catching and processing these fish is creating jobs right here in Illinois.

There are lots of great online resources if you’d like to learn more about Target Hunger Now or the invasive Asian Carp:

• Ideas for how to prepare carp and venison: http://www.dnr.state.il.us/THN/ISAH%20Recipe%20Flyer.pdf
• Illinois Fishing Information: http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/fishing/Documents/IllinoisFishingInformation.pdf
• Asian Carp and management efforts: http://www.asiancarp.org or http://www.glfc.org/fishmgmt/carp.php
• Target Hunger Now campaign: http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/Pages/TargetHungerNow.aspx

Stay tuned to the Get Out blog later this month for information on the Illinois Sportsmen Against Hunger program.

Laura Sievert

Fishing for Freedom Saturday at the Dogwood Parade.

2011 marks the tenth year of the “Global War on Terrorism (GWOT),” and the toll it has taken on our men and women in uniform has been immense. Multiple deployments in the different theaters of the war have left scars, both seen and unseen. Regardless of politics, we can all agree that our fighting forces have served their country selflessly and bravely, and we all can join together to thank our troops for their service.

The psychological toll of war is hard to measure for our nation’s veterans. One 2009 study from Stanford University suggests that up to 40% of returning soldiers will develop some symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Department of Defense and Veteran’s Administration both have initiated programs to help soldiers cope, and their plans both note the therapeutic effect of outdoor recreation.

It is in that spirit that for the first time in Quincy, a dedicated group of volunteers have banded together to create an event called “Fishing for Freedom.”  The event brings together bass anglers and veterans of the GWOT for a day of tournament bass fishing on the river.

Organizer Bob Havermale attended a similar event last fall in Warsaw, Mo., and said he was so moved by what it meant to our service personnel, that he decided to organize a similar event on the Quincy riverfront. “This is a weekend for our honoring our warriors who have served in the GWOT and wounded warriors,” Havermale explains. “Each boater donates his time and the expense of operating his boat for the event. It costs the warriors nothing.  We hope to have a positive impact and a fun day of fishing for people who have given our country so much. We also hope to make this an annual event, that gets bigger and better each year.”

The Fishing for Freedom event will begin Saturday, June 4, at the Oakley Lindsay Center.  There will be a banquet starting at 5 p.m., and tickets for the general public will be $20 each and can be purchased starting May 23 at the OLC Box Office. After the meal, there will be an auction to raise funds to pay for the event. No one working for the event is paid,

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and all funds will go to the operating costs. At 7:30 p.m., Longhorn, a comedian, will take the stage for a show.

The tournament day begins at the Quincy Boat Club for breakfast at 5 a.m. on Sunday, June 5. Weather permitting, at 7 a.m., there will be a fly-over of two F-15 fighter jets while the Star Spangled Banner is played and the fishing boats are launched. The Illinois Patriot Guard Fallen Heroes Traveling Memorial Wall will also be on display at Kessler park during the event. The fishermen will return to the Quincy Boat Club at 3 p.m. for the weigh-in and awards ceremony.

There are still many ways to get involved with the Fishing for Freedom event.  Boat sponsorships are available for $250, volunteers are still needed, and donations of prizes or auction items are very much appreciated. You can learn more about the event by going to http://www.fishingforfreedomquincy.org. The event also has a Facebook page that can be found at www.tinyurl.com/FFQuincy.

Laura Sievert