WABASHA, Minn. — An Australian company that processes carp will open its first U.S. facility in Wabasha on Friday.
Carp may not be popular on menus in the U.S., but it's widely eaten in Eastern Europe and Asia. Keith Bell of K & C Fisheries says in China, the carp is steamed with vegetables for the main meal. In Poland, Bell says the fish is canned with vegetables or is baked for Christmas dinner.
Bell and his wife, Cate, began exploring the upper Mississippi River as a place to grow their business after several years of drought in Australia made it difficult to harvest carp there.
Minnesota Public Radio News reports ( http://bit.ly/wpEs42 ) the common carp is native to Europe and Asia and was introduced in the Midwest as a game fish in the 1880s.
