Or dip them in a simple tartar sauce and enjoy!Īs per NPR, while dogfish are plentiful on the East Coast, they haven't caught on in U.S. Then deep-fry them at 350 F until golden brown for outstanding fishcakes. Mince copi with brown rice, cilantro, and cumin, then refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes until it hardens enough to shape into patties. Deboned, battered, and fried cuts of copi, accompanied by pickled red onions, chipotle mayonnaise, shredded cabbage, and avocado, can make for an incredible taco combination when wrapped in warm tortillas. Steaming, baking, roasting, grilling and pan frying are all great options for this versatile fish. This makes it perfect for almost any cooking method. In the meantime, he says, recreational anglers can help out by seeking out the fish in rivers like the Potomac, where the snakehead has set up shop.This is the real reason Asian carp has been renamed "copi." According to Smithsonian Magazine, the Choose Copi initiative is led by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and includes collaboration with over 30 distributors, retailers, processors, and restaurants across the U.S., trying to get more of us to eat these misunderstood fish.Ĭopi is comparable to a more savory tilapia with a firm texture and fresh yet mild flavor. "I would be very happy to sell, sell, sell, sell, and then have no more to sell," he says. While Rorapaugh hopes to see snakehead filets for sale in local grocery stores, he says there are no plans to set up a real fishery. as "individuals releasing these fish to establish a local food source." Fish and Wildlife Service concurs, listing the probable cause of the snakehead's establishment in the U.S. Promoting this particular fish as a food source is an ironic choice of eradication strategies because, "unfortunately, that's probably how they got here to begin with," Donald Cosden of MDNR tells The Salt. The biggest challenge is catching it since it typically doesn't congregate in large schools. In the past, Maryland's Department of Natural Resources, or MDNR, has tried to drain and poison ponds to stop the snakehead from spreading.īut Rorapaugh hopes that convincing commercial fishermen to pursue and market the fish at fish markets will be more effective. And John Rorapaugh, the vice president for sustainable initiatives at ProFish, a seafood supplier based in Washington, D.C., describes the fish as "very clean tasting, mild, and just a great, great delicacy." Snakehead is a traditional food in Vietnam and Thailand, among other places. And coral reef defenders are still hoping an appetite for lionfish will take hold.īut that may not be a problem with the snakehead. With some problematic fish, like the Asian carp that has taken over the Mississippi River, it's been difficult to get people to adjust their palates for the environment's sake. The dressed-up dinner plate strategy has been tried before to eradicate invasive species, or at least contain them. Nine prominent chefs - including National Geographic Fellow Barton Seaver - grilled, seared, and broiled the pale filets, and then served them to a curious audience. A predator capable of eating fish as large as perch and bass, the snakehead dominates rivers and lakes once it enters them.īut this week, the snakehead went from aquatic pest to delicacy at a fundraiser for an Annapolis-based environmental organization, the Oyster Recovery Partnership. The latest target is the snakehead fish, an aggressive animal native to Asia and Africa that has been populating the waterways of Maryland and Florida with frightening speed over the past decade. That's the rallying cry for conservationists who are recruiting cooks - and their filet knives and frying pans - to the fight against invasive fish species.
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