Asian carp

Some wildlife officials and enterprising entrepreneurs may have found a business-oriented way to deal with the threat from the Asian carp: put them on restaurant menus and kitchen tables.

The aquatic invaders have earned a bad reputation since they first escaped fish farms in the South and began their unstoppable migration up the Mississippi River to threaten even the Great Lakes fishery and recreation industry.

Louisiana's Silverfin Promotion is asking chefs to create recipes. In Kentucky, diners have tried the invasive fish smoked, canned and in fried balls.

To overcome diners' aversion to carp, promoters say they may have to rename the fish to make it more appealing. That could lead to more successful control measures. When the Patagonian toothfish was changed to Chilean sea bass, it became so popular that overfishing is now a problem.