THE third Carp, Camp and Comp was held at St Albans at the weekend with a record turnout of 78 enthusiastic fishers casting their lines for the feral fish in what organiser, Kate Hughes described as perfect fishing weather.

More than 185 tonnes of carp was extracted from the MacDonald Valley waterway as part of the Bring Back the Fish to St Albans restoration of native fish project.

While the competition’s original intention was to rid the waterway of carp regarded as of little use other than as fertiliser Victorian carp fisherman Keith Bell was on hand at the weekend demonstrating how to prepare, cook and enjoy eating the fish.

Mr Bell, who runs a successful carp exporting business in Sale, Victoria, believes carp have had undeservedly bad press.

“Overseas they are the biggest eating fish in the world. China eats 1.23 million tonnes; Poland eats 15,000 tonnes and Israel eats about 40,000 tonnes a year,” Mr Bell said.

“We have been spoiled because we have so many other nice fish here. Australians are generally not fish eaters.

“We don’t like fish with bones in them.

“We are happy to eat shark and flake and prawns.”

Correctly handled, carp can be a tasty bite and Mr Bell, who believes in turning the pest into a resource, defies anyone to dislike his recipes for cooking them.

“Cut it up into fingers and put it in a plastic bag with flour, salt and pepper to taste. Get a frying pan or hot plate with a bit of butter or oil.

“Don’t overcook it,” he warns.

“It only takes a second to cook one side and then another second on the other. Most Australians overcook fish and it makes a lot of difference to the texture and the taste.”

Source : Hills News