Overrun
Dispatches from the Asian Carp Crisis
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- £9.49
Publisher Description
Intelligent investigative writing meets experiential journalism in this important look at one of North America’s most voraciously invasive species
Politicians, ecologists, and government wildlife officials are fighting a desperate rearguard action to halt the onward reach of Asian Carp, four troublesome fish now within a handful of miles from entering Lake Michigan. From aquaculture farms in Arkansas to the bayous of Louisiana; from marshlands in Indiana to labs in Minnesota; and from the Illinois River to the streets of Chicago where the last line of defense has been laid to keep Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes, Overrun takes us on a firsthand journey into the heart of a crisis. Along the way, environmental journalist Andrew Reeves discovers that saving the Great Lakes is only half the challenge. The other is a radical scientific and political shift to rethink how we can bring back our degraded and ignored rivers and waterways and reconsider how we create equilibrium in a shrinking world.
With writing that is both urgent and wildly entertaining, Andrew Reeves traces the carp’s explosive spread throughout North America from an unknown import meant to tackle invasive water weeds to a continental scourge that bulldozes through everything in its path.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Environmental journalist Reeves sets out to "fill in the gaps of Asian carp's long, strange American tale" in this illuminating study of the invasive species. Seeking to discover "how they arrived here" and "why they're dangerous," Reeves talks with scientists, economists, chefs, and policymakers throughout the U.S. Early chapters will intrigue environmentally-conscious readers by describing the Asian carp's arrival in the 1960s, at the behest of academic researchers and Fish and Wildlife Service officials, and Arkansas fish farmer Jim Malone's endeavors to capitalize on them as a way "to eat aquatic weeds and clean aquaculture ponds," despite biologists' warnings of the ecological threat posed. Later sections, on the fishing and restaurant industry's attempts to handle the carp surplus, prove equally fascinating. Distributors including Schafer Fisheries in Illinois came to consider carp "a readily available and protein-rich" source of food, feed, fertilizer, and even pet food, and advocates such as Louisiana chef Philippe Parola tried to drum up culinary interest. But Asian carp's many small bones made the fish a challenge to work with both in the kitchen and at the table. Reeves rounds out his investigation by discussing government efforts to manage the Asian carp population, particularly around the Great Lakes, and the Trump administration's disregard for environmental protections. In so doing, he delivers a thorough look at an important and multifaceted topic.
