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Comment by RajT88 | Hacker News Reader

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RajT88

Indeed, this is happening:

https://www.statista.com/chart/2280/the-global-fish-farming-...

China's being smart about it too - they are farming fish which are ubiquitous and easy to farm (Carp and Tilapia):

https://thechinaguys.com/aquaculture-in-china/

China could do a much better job at regulating their fishing industry though...

In the West we eat Tilapia, but we probably should learn to eat Carp. Unfortunately as a family of fish, it gets a bad rap for a few reasons (Americans don't like bones, Carp has a low-class association, Carp can be "muddy" if not raised and prepared right).

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We grew up eating carp out of the Mississippi river. Certainly not great, but easy enough to put in a smoker. In fact, it's a relatively common dish in certain communities along the river, and you can find smoked carp in gas stations and grocery stores in the region.

Which region? I live a few hours from the Mississippi, but up north in northern IL, and it runs for quite a ways further north than even me.

I will have to pick up some smoked carp if I make it to said area. I've never seen it for sale. The only time I've seen Carp for sale period is in Asian supermarkets.

Here is a picture I found from a grocer in Prairie Du Chien:

https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/11/f...

Here is an article I found about it:

https://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/cast-iron-chef/ritters-fis...

I am not super familiar with anything south of Dubuque, but Highway 35 between Prairie du Chien and ending with Lacrosse Wi is full of a number of small river towns that sell it (or at least did when I was growing up there). De Soto and Genoa are the two that had a lot of river catfish and carp, both smoked and sitting in grocer's fridge units.

Carp are bottom feeders that accumulate toxins in polluted waters.

Sure. That's why they farm raise them in Asia. European carp, anyways.

Asian species are a different story - some of them are filter feeders. Some other European species don't have bottom feeding mouth parts as well (Crucian, Prussian).

So are catfish and there's a healthy market for them.

Most catfish are farm raised in reasonably clean water.

Lobsters were once a low class food. I wonder what it takes to change the perception.

Lobster was considered a low class food because it goes bad extremely fast once dead, i.e. within 24 hours even if properly refrigerated, and so it'd only be fed to people like prisoners who had no other choice.

The popularity of lobster went up first when canning technology allowed boats to cook and package them up immediately after they were caught but they were still a cheap source of protein. It didn't become the delicacy it is today until after the great depression when the economics allowed fishermen to specialize in lobster fishing and keep them alive until they reached the customer.

That set of circumstances is difficult to repeat for other species

You give it a fancy name and marketing makeover, that's what happened to the Patagonian toothfish...sorry, I meant Chilean sea bass.

I don’t know but after going on vacation and eating some fresh lobster I think lobster is gross by itself. A nice Lobster Bisque prepared correctly is delicious but otherwise it’s just a giant muddy tasting sea bug. I’d prefer a Dungeness Crab over lobster any day.

Seeing fish farms in China next to factories, trash heaps, and rail lines, maybe would inspire more confidence if the fish were less robust than tilapia and carp that can survive in almost anything

This is not the solution it seems. Too often, aquaculture uses wild-caught fish as feed. Great way to reduce waste, not a great way to protect the marine environment. At the moment, there is not a lot fish on the market that you can eat with a clean conscience.

Edit: I was thinking saltwater fish, freshwater fish is a different story.

That's certainly true of Salmon, but not for Tilapia and Carp. Carp and Tilapia mostly feed on plant matter and insects - and so that's what the feed pellets are made of.

Good to know, appreciate it!

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