If you've ever seen Finding Nemo, you know that fish are our friends, not food.
An exception should be made in Southern Australia, though, where not all fish are being kind to their environment and do, in fact, make excellent food.
Specifically, the nonnative European carp population is surging. It's clogged up local waterways like Lake Bonney and made it harder for native fish to survive, according to regional outlet Glam Adelaide.
Luckily, the Lake Bonney community has an effective way to tackle the problem — and win cash.
It's called the SA Carp Frenzy, and it's exactly what it sounds like. Anyone and everyone with a fishing rod tries to catch as many carp as they can. The top catches earn portions of a $10,000 pot of prize money.
As Glam Adelaide reported, this year's event on March 1 boasted a large first prize of $3,000. Over 1,000 people participated and collectively caught more than four metric tons of carp — that's almost 9,000 pounds of fish.
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Australians might view carp as nothing more than a pest, but it is also a common freshwater fish to eat. Celebrity chef Iain Hewitson even endorsed a book called If You Can't Beat 'Em – Eat 'Em! that contains 30 recipes using carp, Glam Adelaide explained.
The competition is popular in Lake Bonney, but most importantly, it helps bring awareness to the gains that can be made against invasive species that threaten natural ecosystems.
When these kinds of plants and animals are introduced to a region they don't natively grow or live in, they often run rampant. For example, Lake Bonney's native species are dwindling due to the influx of carp monopolizing tons of resources. This kind of decline in biodiversity is never a good sign for the health of the overall ecosystem.
Invasive plants also threaten biodiversity and can be a real pain to remove. A beneficial alternative is native plants, and rewilding your yard can help keep invasives at bay while saving you time and money. Native plants require less water and maintenance and support pollinators that protect our food supply.
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The upfront cost 💰 Clever programs like the Carp Frenzy, which incentivize people to combat harmful species, are effective. There are other similar events in the region, and you can recreationally fish for carp all year long without a license or limits on size and amount. For a full list of guidelines, visit the Department of Primary Industries and Regions website.
Just as the fishing community of Lake Bonney clearly makes the best of a bad situation, Glam Adelaide's reporting featured several carp-related jokes.
"Where do carp keep their money?" the outlet asked. "In the riverbank of course!"
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