Where I am at the Asian Carps are not going to be an economical activity for someone if the end use is as a fishmeal at going prices for the stuff. Fishing for them is hard on your expensive equipment and labor intensive. Commercial fishers already have a tough time making a buck where the end use if for direct human consumption. The fishmeal use of the same harvest would support even a smaller return for the fisherman. Using subsidies to support the harvesting and processing is not likely to be popular with tax payers unless they see worthwhile benefits related to reduction of carp abundance. Many people care, but not enough when cost are considered. Do you want to raise taxes to support the effort?
I don't think you would have to, Asian carp are already caught by commercial fishing nets up and down both rivers - the problem is there isn't a great demand for them, so they're often tossed back. If they were sold as a raw material for fish meal it would be a win win for all those involved. Some of the work WIU is doing focuses on tagging, tracking and telemetry to log the growth rates and migration patterns of Asian carp. When it comes to these fish invading Minnesota and the great lakes - several other agencies will get involved and those subsidies will come whether folks wish to pay or not. Look at zebra muscles...
