Breyer, Melissa. “Farm Burger Introduces Invasive Species Sandwich.” TreeHugger, Treehugger, 21 Feb. 2019, www.treehugger.com/green-food/farm-burger-introduces-invasive-species-sandwich.html.
Beginning on March 5th, a restaurant chain in the US called “Farm Burger” will be introducing the Catfish burger to their menu. In the 1970s the Catfish was introduced into the Chesapeake Bay and it had dominated the area ever since, making up 75% of the total fish biomass. These catfish threaten native species such as the menhaden fish and blue crab and pose a great threat to the region’s ecosystem and economy. The solution of this chain is to adopt the practice of catching eating the catfish to hopefully reduce its vast population.
I’ve heard of many other invasive species featured on menus to help alleviate their negative effects, however, I’m not sure how effective this solution may be. These catfish makeup ¾ the total weight of all fish in the region and with only 12 stores across the US, it does not seem they will be able to completely rid of the catfish. Especially if there is no large demand for a catfish burger there will be no real threats of predation on the catfish. Although a clever idea, more efforts should be made to recover the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay other than a new menu item.
I agree with your sentiments… invasives need to be more than a menu item, although it is a justifiable menu item. That’s how I feel about hunting- go hunt invasives like the wild boar (or natives that are missing a natural predator). I wonder if expanding the market on invasive catfish could work… turning them into fishmeal for fish farms or something… or protein for pet food. I have to think anything that makes an economic incentive in the market to eradicate invasives deserves at least a discussion.
I hope you have found your topic intriguing… invasives are a huge issue and sometimes seems overwhelming. Do you think there are some invasives we just let go because they’re too expensive to deal with? You are a relative expert at this point Kiernan- thanks for all the research on this.
Thank you for your comment, Mr. P. From what I understand, all invasive species create some type of harm or disruption and the ones that cause the most must be dealt with with the most urgency, no matter the cost as their negative effects will become more expensive later down the road if their populations go unchecked.
While the solution is not entirely absolute, it is definitely helpful for the people of the area to have this item on the menu. There is no reason for them to not have it, really.
I agree! Thank you for your comment.