University helps develop alternative food source

Chinese bighead carp may sound like the name of an alternative rock band, but for the U.S. Department of Agricultural Research Service, it’s a business experiment.

A highly preferred product in Asia and Europe, carp sales in America have only been good in ethnic markets.

The fish can be oily and a chore to eat fresh because it’s so bony. Anglers don’t like it because carp have a reputation as “trash fish” eating off plankton and other aquatic debris. And the common carp, the species native to American rivers and streams, is not as tasty as its bigheaded Chinese cousin.

But Don Freeman, research leader at the ARS Aquaculture Systems Research Unit in Pine Bluff, may have a way to increase the carp’s marketability.

Working as an adjunct professor with both the University of Arkansas’ Fayetteville and Pine Bluff campuses, Freeman leads an effort to develop bighead carp as a canned product. He says the process softens the bones, making it similar to canned salmon or tuna.

The project is currently in the sensory quality or “taste” testing stage. Testing is being done in Fayetteville after the fish are grown in a portion of Pine Bluff’s 100 quarter-acre research ponds.

Test panelists are not told the identity of the fish they’re eating until after sampling. So far, 54 percent rate the steam-cooked product as either “like very much” or “like moderately.”

More than 60 percent say it’s “better than or equal to” canned tuna and they would be willing to pay as much for the product as tuna. The taste and price fall, Freeman says, “somewhere between regular and albacore tuna.”

There are about 6,000 acres of ponds containing bighead carp in Arkansas. In most cases, the fish are being used as simple plankton removers. But the introduction of canning could greatly increase the fish’s popularity as a crop. And it could be profitable because they grow so fast — up to 6 pounds in the first year or a rate about four times that of the catfish.

Freeman says various groups of farmers have shown considerable interest, and potential canning and distributing companies have been “beating down the door.” But the first item of business is figuring out how to market carp to a public that associates the name with trash.

“Noble fish” and “Bighead Amur” are two of the name changes Freeman is considering. Production costs for the crop are estimated to be as low as 20 to 25 cents per pound, making it an attractive investment.

Studies show tremendous growth potential overall for the seafood industry.

According to Agriculture Research, per-capita fish consumption for Americans climbed from 11.8 pounds in 1970 to more than 15 in 1995. The United States imported more than 3 billion pounds of edible fish in 1991, compared with just 1.87 billion pounds in 1970.

The declining quality of canned tuna in the United States is another reason Freeman believes his product can do well and environmental and health concerns also make bighead carp more attractive because freshwater rivers and streams don’t contain the kind of metal and chemical pollution that affects ocean species.

The monthly magazine, Agriculture Research, and the Wall Street Journal have done articles on Freeman’s success. A study report is to appear in this month’s J. Aquatic Food Product Technology report.