The head of a major Missouri legislative committee is suggesting a way that farmers can save on fuel costs; that the state can reduce dependence on foreign oil; that a supply of methamphetamine ingredients can be reduced; and a way that Missouri fishermen can improve their standard of living.
Carp.
Yes—the fish. The federal fish and wildlife service has banned the importation of Asian silver carp…and has banned the movement of them from state to state. These things get to be three feet long…grow to 60 pounds. And they jump into people’s boats. They have caused damage and injury. They originally were imported to control algae in sewage lagoons but they escaped into the waterways and they’ve become a problem in the Missouri River as far north as South Dakota, and in about two-thirds of the Mississippi River and some of its other tributaries.
State Representative Walt Bivens of the House Energy and Environment Committee, says research is being done on catching them, drying them, and using them for fertilizer. He says the idea might sound far-fetched. But he says he’s always on the lookout for organic or natural ways to farm with less chemicals. He sayhs the production of methamphetamine has made prices for some materials used in farming.
Anhydrous Ammonia, a fertilizer, is often stolen by meth-makers. So far nobody has found a way to make meth from carp.
Don’t laugh this off. You might remember in elementary school that wed learned about the Indians who helped the Pilgrims survive by putting a fish in the ground with the corn they planted.
The technology of Squanto is new again.