Eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• Malicious but delicious in Austin, Texas
• Miami chefs cook up invasive lionfish
• Smoked python is also on the menu in Miami

Eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• Record-setting snakehead caught in Florida
• Dramatic impact of feral pigs in Oklahoma
• Festival targets invasive cichlids in Louisiana
• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources offering invasive species volunteer training in April
• Editor Matt Barnes and collaborators have been developing new tools for detecting invasive species

white tailed deer, fotopedia (http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-1409885673)

White tailed deer is a species native to Kentucky, where I live, and to much of the eastern hardwood forest region of the USA.  However, white tailed deer have attained such high abundance that they cause major ecological problems normally associated with invasive species.  For example, white tailed deer browse tree seedlings, so in areas with high deer populations, growth of new trees may not occur.  Absence of tree regeneration affects other native species such as birds that prefer to nest in younger trees.  Deer may also heavily browse some herb species, like ginseng, leading to their local extinction.  Species like this can be a real threat to the native ecosystem.  A recent article by Michael P. Carey et al. in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment discusses the case of such “native invaders.”  The authors explain how white tailed deer and other super abundant, high impact native species present challenges for policy, management, and society.

First, Carey et al. outline how native invaders occur.  Non-native species like wild boar and cane toad are introduced by humans from long distances (or escape local captivity), and then have detrimental impacts on local ecological systems.  Native invaders differ in that they are not transported, but their invasive/damaging stage is often sparked in some way by some human activity.  People may cause high reproduction of a native species, such as providing supplemental food or removing a predator (white tailed deer often have no predators) or competitor.  Second, human-modified habitat may provide a niche that a particular native species is good at exploiting (white tailed deer thrive in fragmented forest).  Lastly, some native species are “stocked” (sport fish and game birds), in which large numbers of animals are bred and intentionally released into the wild.  Therefore, because of humans, populations of native species may achieve very large numbers, especially in particular habitats, without actually leaving their native geographic range.

Carey et al. discuss several native invaders in detail, such as rainbow trout, a popular sport fish.  These fish have been stocked in historically fish-less lakes within their native range, and can wreck the native ecosystem and its co-evolved trophic relationships.  Another problem with stocked populations is with stocking individuals of large size (or some other characteristic), making the population genetically and perhaps ecologically different from previous wild populations.  Using examples, Carey et al. explain how native invaders pose similar environmental problems as non-native invasives, but special problems for scientific research, management, public education, and policy.  One research challenge is to determine how abundant the native species once was (a challenge in much of conservation biology), how much population sizes fluctuated, what historical impacts occurred, and whether current impacts are “off the chart.”   The geographic range and population sizes before Europeans entered North America may be difficult to ascertain, as is determining what is “natural.”  However, this information is necessary for managers to know if/when a native should be considered problematic.

One management challenge is that a native invader may be simultaneously an invader in one part of its range, a threatened species in another part of its range, and perhaps even a non-native invader outside its range (e.g. rainbow trout).  Another problem is to control a native invader.  In the case of one native invasive fish, northern pikeminow, fishermen are rewarded for catching this fish (a reward for being an invasivore!), which can help reduce density.  While this does provide recreation and education about the problem, the underlying cause of the invasive habits of this fish (stream and river management practices) are not addressed.  Furthermore, for some native invasives, there is no evidence regarding whether a control program has measurable effects.  A final issue is that some agencies have to balance conservation and natural resource goals.

A final and large challenge is to convince the general public about the potential harm that native species can cause when they become invasive and to demonstrate the need for occasionally lethal control measures.  Public opinion will often be divided, and media attention can simplify the ecological picture.  Still, a broader discussion of what we mean by “invasive,” and a thoughtful reflection on the social and ecological reasons behind the control measures we use (including eating!), can help advance our understanding and management of native invaders.

Kicking off 2013 with a round-up of eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

The Appalachian Voice provided some tasty suggestions for eating invasive species, including a familiar recipe for pulled feral pork sandwiches!

Wisconsin Sea Grant presented an updated Twelve Days of Aquatic Invasive Species

Will Invasivory remain a hot food trend in 2013?

A helping of eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• Texans are also talking about eating invasive feral pigs
• Important precaution against transporting and selling live snakehead
• Brew beer with invasive cheatgrass! (sorry we could only find this one in print)

A buffet of eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• We recently enjoyed picking autumn olives in northern Indiana.  Elsewhere in the state, the Department of Natural Resources are stepping up eradication efforts.  Maybe we should send along our jam recipe?
• Enjoying Asian Carp burgers in Chicago.
• The fight over sporting swine continues in Michigan.
• The largest Asian clam control effort in history of Lake Tahoe is underway!
• Shout-out to colleagues at our base of operations, the University of Notre Dame, for receiving a grant from the EPA to continue research on genetic detection of invasive species!

Guest contributor Dr. Christopher Patrick recently enjoyed dinner at Alewife Baltimore where Chef Chad Wells is working to educate people to eat local and eat invasive.  Here, Chris reviews the meal in 3 courses, interspersed with an interview with the Chef himself.

First Course: Wild Boar Meatballs

Chef Chad tells us that feral pigs have invaded the great state of Texas (among many other places).  Invasive boar root up native vegetation and are a general nuisance species.  He has a friend who professionally shoots the boars and ships up the meat.  Chad hopes to visit Texas soon and maybe practice a little invasivore style management himself!

As our server brings out the first plate, I take in the presentation: four meatballs served adjacent to a bed of shaved fennel, daikon sprout, and pickled carrot salad in a ginger mustard sauce.  The meatballs are light, both in texture and flavor.  The meat is savory but not overly so.  My lovely girlfriend Laura remarks that this pork tastes lean, and I have to agree.  The spicy garnish, when paired with the meatballs is reminiscent of spring rolls.  I have visions of trying some wild boar in a meatloaf when I get a chance.  This is a great way to start the meal!

The meal kicks off with wild boar meatballs

Second Course:  Blue Catfish Tacos

Chef Chad buys his blue catfish from fishermen who get it in the Potomac River, so the next course is fresh, locally caught, and cheap!  At $4.00 per pound, you can’t beat this fish for price. Blue catfish are voracious omnivores and do a lot of damage to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, so we’re anxious to do our part to eliminate this pest by diving into the next course. 

Each of the emerging taco towers high with toppings.  Laura and I try to guess all the flavors as we take our first bites.  We detect shoe string crunchy sweet potatoes and a homemade spiracha on the side.  There is also fresh crunchy cabbage coleslaw, chimichurri (we peeked on the menu for that one), blistered corn salsa, and of course, blue catfish.  The catfish has a very mild flavor- not too fishy.  The meat melts in your mouth.  It’s not tough at all, providing the perfect tender fish for a taco dish.

Blue catfish tacos were a spicy treat

Third Course:  Snakehead

Chef Chad tells us that two years ago, this was a hard fish to buy.  Commercial fishermen would only encounter it as by-catch and didn’t know what to do with it.  You’d have to call special to request one, and it was really cheap.  Now the fishermen are starting to target it, and snakehead sells for $12.50 a pound- more expensive than rockfish, a more traditional local delicacy!  Media attention and several local chefs working to promote it have made it locally popular.  Some people are still scared to eat it, but it’s becoming an environmentally conscious food choice, and every time you eat one of these you’re not eating a native fish, so it’s a win-win.  Chef Chad informs us that another great thing about these fish is that they have a very thick slime coat on their skin which protects the meat when frozen.  

Finally, the main event!  The server brings out a massive mound, a tower of delight for our taste buds.  The snakehead sits atop a pile of chorizo, black beans, cilantro, and grilled onions, all mashed together and charred to perfection.  The fish has white meat and it is firm, like a salmon or a thin piece of tuna.  The flavor of the fish is light, but it has been blackened with spices that offset the light flavor.  The mixture of chorizo, beans, onions, and cilantro is so amazingly delicious that I have trouble focusing on the snakehead itself, which is a shame, because a fish this good deserves to be the center piece, not a side show.  Nevertheless, snakehead proves to be a delicious fish.

Snakehead, the delicious main course

Eating invasive species news and notes from around the web!

• It just got a little easier to catch invasive lionfish in Florida
• Also in Florida this week, they found a record-setting python
• A nice article on hunting feral pigs by our friend, The Locavore Hunter

A buffet of eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

Invasive signal crayfish harvest commences in Lake Tahoe.

Elsewhere, commercial harvest focuses on invasive rusty crayfish.

In the Northwest, three states have teamed up in an assault on feral pigs.

Tonka Beer Company in Minnesota fighting aquatic invasive species.  We’ll drink to that!

BioInvaders, Invasive Species Marketplace incorporates in Texas.

Details on the Asian carp processing facility in Grafton, Illinois.

Asian carp also made an appearance at this year’s Taste of Chicago.

The Redneck Fishing Tournament is August 3rd and 4th in Bath, Illinois.  We’ll be there to report on the fun!

Invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• Yikes! Snakehead captured in a pond in Burnaby, British Columbia
• An Asian carp processing plant planned in Grafton, IL.
• I wonder if they’ll be talking about eating invasives at the North American Invasive Plant Ecology and Management Short Course at U Nebraska-Lincoln June 26-28?
• Best Invasivore Chef competition upcoming in Miami.  Menu will include snakehead, lionfish, feral pig, and python!
• The UK gets in on the action of developing invasive species smartphone apps
• Invasive species cost the Great Lakes
• Fighting Asian clams in Ireland
• It’s summertime, so here’s a quick reminder to clean your boat when entering and exiting the water!