Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]There was an article in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning about the ongoing study by the committee to restore Utah Lake. [url "http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8073131"]LINK TO ARTICLE[/url][/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]One insert in the article was about a plan to ship Utah Lake carp to Iraq, or other countries where carp is a major food item and the quality standards are not as high as in the US. Here is that part...for quick reading:[/#0000ff]
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[black]Does the solution to Utah Lake's carp problem lie in Iraq?
Reed Harris, director of the state's June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program, said that a humanitarian group in Minnesota has offered to take carp from the lake and deliver them in Iraq and other countries as food.
Harris said he was contacted by Mike Powell, of MN Direct Trade, who offered to remove 5 million to 10 million fish a year. Powell's group would send the fish to people in Iraq, Bosnia and the Baltic.
Harris said Powell told him that carp have been a part of the Iraqi people's diet, and that fish there today go for $4 a pound.
While the fish may be popular in Baghdad, Utahns have been strongly advised not to each too much of the Utah Lake fish because of PCB pollution. The state advised people to eat no more than four ounces of fish a month, while children and pregnant women should abstain.
Harris explained that the guidelines were based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, which are more stringent than U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules for fish.
"This fish is marketed all over the world," Harris said.
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[font "Lucida Console"][#ff4040]At $4/pound...someone can make some major money!![/#ff4040][/font]
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[cool][#0000ff]Yeah, but don't forget shipping and handling. Where would you put a stamp on a carp? [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yeah, I know, just stamp 'em on the bank.[/#0000ff]
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Selling all those carp would put a dent in the national debt, no doubt.

CarpPunisher might not want all his cannon fodder shipped out though.
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Wouldn't that be against the Geneva convention?
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[cool][#0000ff]Are you referring to Geneva, Switzerland or Geneva Steel?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I do not think the former has any provisions for carp warfare. The latter is probably the cause of much of the pollution.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]On the humanitarian side, I would hate to wish our carp problems on anybody...even Iraq. On the other side, I would simply like to see them gone...whatever their ultimate destination.[/#0000ff]
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[cool]I am ALL for that plan, so long as they throw back all of the gamefish that get caught in their nets, like 'eyes, largies, gils, whities, etc. I guess there's plenty of whities in there that a few of those could go too, but certainly not the 'eyes or largies, etc.
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That sounds like the perfect plan. We are in Balad, Iraq right now and there are a few ponds on base. Not sure if any fish are in there though. I'll send you our address and you can send them to use and we'll stock these ponds []

Hell we could even sell them offbase []
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[cool][#0000ff]Do you think if we sent you enough carp that you could bribe your way back home? The fish over here miss ya. I'm betting that you would rather be here than there too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck and come back whole.[/#0000ff]
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they can have all they want i say! theycan have all the carp out of yuba as well.. [sly]
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Good point O4T, I'd hate to see some real fish get scooped and tossed aside later because they weren't carp. I hope they don't bother the king/queen of all utah fish *drum roll* the JUNE SUCKER!!!![laugh]
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I'm sorry but I'm all against that "master" plan. I hope they are unsuccessful and just give up. Stop the polluters, spend a few million or billion to filter out the pcbs, but leave all the fish alone. I'm sure after the carp are gone, they will next remove all gamefish and the lake will be full of june suckers. The carp are harmless.......there is an ENORMOUS gamefish population in Utah lake......and there always has been. I found that anytime humans meddle with bodies of water.....it always results in more bad than good. And I'm sure they WON'T toss the gamefish back when they net them......it would be too much work. That is why there is such controversy over ocean trawling......the trawls catch shrimp, cod, or whatever the target species.......and spells death for all the "accidental" bycatch. The bycatch percentage often far outweighs the target species. I'm sure they would kill plenty of lmb, bluegill, crappies and white bass along with the carp. And then toss them back since they can't legally sell them.