Such potential beckoned here brightly a year ago. In the latter half of 2014, the Peoria area brimmed with multiple possibilities. Peoria County was vigorously seeking to site a $10 million processing plant. A southern Illinois operation was considering locating here. A Wisconsin fish factory was negotiating to relocate to central Illinois.
Why, there was even a proposal to put a small processing plant in Spring Bay.
Today? All of those ideas have either died, faded or shifted. That’s not to say all hope is lost in Greater Peoria. But, with experts still pondering the best ways to make a buck off Asian carp, the lull of early 2016 sounds dauntingly empty compared to the excitement of late 2014.
“It seems there was a lot of talk then,” says Kevin Irons, aquaculture and aquatic nuisance species program manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “But my phone is still ringing.”
Irons, a biologist often consulted by municipalities and investors, says the quietude shouldn’t necessarily be considered disappointment, but prudence.
“I’d rather see it where plans are well thought out, rather than something is put together but it falls flat,” he says
Irons and others involved in the Asian carp bugaboo continue to ponder solutions to a problem that continues to fester, especially in the Illinois River — and especially in Peoria.
In the 1970s, Asian carp were imported from Asia to fish farms in the South, mostly to help clean commercial ponds. But soon the carp slipped into the Mississippi River basin, where they have proliferated for four decades. The hearty eaters often grow 40 inches long and weigh 40 pounds, though some reach 100 pounds.
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Luciano: Asian carp ventures slow to take hold in central Illinois
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Participants in the competition catch Asian carp Sept. 5 during the 10th annual Ori...[+]Buy Photo
By Phil Luciano
Journal Star columnist Posted Jan. 9, 2016 @ 4:38 pm
Phil Luciano
If Asian carp around Peoria seem to be smiling lately, perhaps it’s a case of no news is good news.
That’d be from the fish-eye point of view. From a landlubber’s perspective, we’d love to see ventures arise to curb the invasive species and spark economic development.
Such potential beckoned here brightly a year ago. In the latter half of 2014, the Peoria area brimmed with multiple possibilities. Peoria County was vigorously seeking to site a $10 million processing plant. A southern Illinois operation was considering locating here. A Wisconsin fish factory was negotiating to relocate to central Illinois. Why, there was even a proposal to put a small processing plant in Spring Bay.
Today? All of those ideas have either died, faded or shifted. That’s not to say all hope is lost in Greater Peoria. But, with experts still pondering the best ways to make a buck off Asian carp, the lull of early 2016 sounds dauntingly empty compared to the excitement of late 2014.
“It seems there was a lot of talk then,” says Kevin Irons, aquaculture and aquatic nuisance species program manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “But my phone is still ringing.”
Irons, a biologist often consulted by municipalities and investors, says the quietude shouldn’t necessarily be considered disappointment, but prudence.
“I’d rather see it where plans are well thought out, rather than something is put together but it falls flat,” he says
Irons and others involved in the Asian carp bugaboo continue to ponder solutions to a problem that continues to fester, especially in the Illinois River — and especially in Peoria.
