Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is hoping that China can help his state eat its way out of the Asian carp crisis. Quinn is touting a deal, which OnEarth first reported about in March, to export 30 million pounds of invasive carp to China and create 180 jobs in the process.

Quinn stood by this week as Liang Chang, chairman of Beijing Zhuochen Animal Husbandry, and Rick Smith, president of Big River Fish Corp. in Pearl, Illinois, signed the export contract. Now that the deal has been made official, the state will invest $2 million so that Big River can retrofit its processing plant to handle the new demand for Asian carp.

In addition to the 61 new processing plant jobs that the deal will create, it's also expected to provide work for dozens of fisherman hit hard by the dearth of other fish in the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers since the carp have overwhelmed native populations.

Americans have thus far found little use for the over-abundant bighead and silver carp, aside of from watching their antics on YouTube. Fishermen have had little luck enticing diners stateside beyond the small gefilte fish market.

The Chinese, though, seem delighted to lend their chopsticks to helping curb the problem. The chef that Beijing Zhuochen sent to Pearl earlier this year praised the local catch for its "wild, natural" taste, and Liang said his company was eager to start supplying the "tremendous market" in China.

Environmentalists stress that commercial fishing can only be part of the carp solution, especially since a bighead carp was recently found above the Army Corp of Engineers' electric barrier designed to keep the invasive species out of Lake Michigan. Still, China's hearty carp appetite could help reduce the population. Now if only someone, somewhere would step up and eat other invasive species.

Linguini with Zebra mussels and a fresh kudzu salad anyone?

Image: Kate Gardiner via Flickr