For those of you not from the Mississippi River or Great Lakes region, you may be unaware of the an aggressive fish known as the Asian Carp, that’s been fighting its way upriver toward Lake Michigan for years. The Asian Carp is a poor choice for sport fishing. Not only is it excessively bony and difficult to clean, but the fish, which can weigh up to 30 pounds, has the terrifying tendency to leap into boats without warning. Conservation officials have been fighting a losing battle, despite offering a bounty to fishermen, so they’ve decided to try a new tactic.
The idea behind renaming the fish is to encourage consumer demand. Carp species in general have a poor reputation for taste because most of them are bottom feeders. The Asian Carp - excuse me - Copi feeds on plankton, and is said to have a mild taste more like cod Officials hope commercial processors will use it in foods like fish patties.
Renaming disgusting fish has been done before. Patagonian toothfish became Chilean seabass and Slimehead was rebranded as orange roughy.
They call him Copi! Copi!
Faster than lightning!
No one you see
Is Smarter than he…
And the Copi
Lives in a world full of wonder
Under the …uh … River.
Heck, it worked when they rebranded the Patagonian Toothfish as Chilean Sea Bass. "Patagonian toothfish sounds like it’s gonna bite you. Or else as if you’re gonna spend hours picking its teeth out of your mouth.
