snakehead fish

[kasia]

the snakehead fish native of the yantze river in china have invaded u.s. ponds. cnn has been calling them "alien fish" and it's starting to irk me.

would they still be labeled as "aliens" had they originated from europe?

i think the cnn newscaster anchorwoman looked more like an alien than the fish did. :x

[kasia]

"Have you seen this fish?" reads a wanted poster placed around the pond in Crofton where the fish was caught in June. The poster is also on the state Fisheries Department Web site.

Beneath a picture of the suspect fish, and a list of its distinguishing features -- "long dorsal fin, small head, large mouth, big teeth" -- is a warning and a death warrant.

"The northern snakehead from China is not native to Maryland waters and could cause serious problems if introduced into our ecosystem," the warning reads.

"If you come across this fish, PLEASE DO NOT RELEASE. Please KILL this fish by cutting/bleeding as it can survive out of water for several days and REPORT all catches to Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service."

In addition to the one fish caught, there may be at least one more lingering in the pond, said Eric Schwaab, the Maryland Fisheries Service director.

Two weeks before the catch, a fisherman reeled in something that looked very much like a northern snakehead, took a picture of it and then tossed it back in the pond, Schwaab said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

"They're top-level predators so they clearly can eat a lot of the native fish there and displace other native top-level predators, like large-mouth bass and pickerel, both of which are in that pond," he said. "One of the problems with non-native species is you never know what the impact is going to be."


**********************

i hope the chinese fish will eat up all the rednecks in maryland. 8)

[achtungbaby]

[quote:95e09b813a="kasia"]

i think the cnn newscaster anchorwoman looked more like an alien than the fish did. :x[/quote:95e09b813a]

But would you eat her raw, too?

[jizza]

[quote:d72948a0e8="achtungbaby"][quote:d72948a0e8="kasia"]

i think the cnn newscaster anchorwoman looked more like an alien than the fish did. :x[/quote:d72948a0e8]

But would you eat her raw, too?[/quote:d72948a0e8]

lol, with enough wasabi and soy sauce i can eat anything raw...

[ChinaLama]

ah let's stop bitchin' and start eatin'. A fish w/ a big head sounds yummy (even if it will look like a giant slithery dildo).

[kasia]

[quote:9977b0537b="jizza"][quote:9977b0537b="achtungbaby"][quote:9977b0537b="kasia"]

i think the cnn newscaster anchorwoman looked more like an alien than the fish did. :x[/quote:9977b0537b]

But would you eat her raw, too?[/quote:9977b0537b]

lol, with enough wasabi and soy sauce i can eat anything raw...[/quote:9977b0537b]

do you like beef tartar?

[princess]

ugh beef tartar is SICK.

[achtungbaby]

Fish *heads* are sick!

[ChinaLama]

thats cuz you mountain ppl (thats my personal slur for koreans) don't eat good seafood like fish and their assorted body parts. Y'all have to be eatin' beef and yak and what not, bah! only LAND animals.

alt i gotta hand it to the Koreans for having some really nice beef dishes.

[jizza]

lol, i apologize if i don't enjoy the full flavor of a fish's ass... :D

[quote:50439f0dae]do you like beef tartar[/quote:50439f0dae]

i usually like my tartar sauce on my seafood... :P jk, i haven't really tried beef tah-tah...

[princess]

[quote:1602d79408="achtungbaby"]Fish *heads* are sick![/quote:1602d79408]

fish EYES are worse

[ChinaLama]

bah! what are you talking about! EVERY part of a fish's head is good. brains, cheeks, eyes. Yum.

and i'm not being sarcastic. I've actually developed quite a reputation among friends and family for eating fish head.


BTW I dunno exactly what REGION this is originally fr, but Chinese ppl make a nice fish head soup using some fish w/ a BIG head. :)

[Arex]

That's right. I used to love eating the fish eyes but not so much any more. Fish cheeks are delicious though. Nice and smooth...

Alex

[achtungbaby]

[quote:38642acb51="ChinaLama"]
alt i gotta hand it to the Koreans for having some really nice beef dishes.[/quote:38642acb51]

Did we learn about eating dogs from you guys??

[princess]

oye i personally hate fish eyes. they remind me of...gumballs

[Saiko]

I never liked gumballs and never will, but I used to love fish eyes so much when I was little. In fact, I liked the entire head. The eyes were just my favourite part. Mmm.

[ChinaLama]

if you eat a BIG fish head, the best part are the brains. :)

[kasia]

well, let's get back on the topic.

why are fish from china referred to as "alien fish"? doesn't anyone else find that rude?

[Arex]

I think the author used the term "alien" the same way that people refer to other immigrants as "aliens" (i.e., foreign). I understand your point, but I think you may be being a tad overly sensitive here since this is just a fish we're talking about here.

Oh yeah, the more negative term "alien" (vs. "foreign") may be more appropriate here since the fish doesn't belong there and could, in fact, fuck up the ecosystem.

On the other hand, show me something to indicate that the author singles out people/animals/things from China as "alien" and, as a Chinese-American, I'll stick my foot up her ass.



Alex

[ChinaLama]

i think the author also wants to convey the Independence Day-esque "alien" meaning as well, as in a threatening and strange alien invader that eats native species. it doesn't seem like a biggie to me.

[SunWuKong]

[quote:f827269369="ChinaLama"]BTW I dunno exactly what REGION this is originally fr, but Chinese ppl make a nice fish head soup using some fish w/ a BIG head. :)[/quote:f827269369]


i am almost certain the fish you are talking about is the same fish that was found in maryland. i read that they might ask for help from anglers in china who catch this fish.

[princess]

i didnt think that much into it, to tell the truth. i juss assumed that "alien" referred to not native to the US and there wasnt a deeper meaning to it.

[kasia]

okay, so the consensus is that it isn't a big deal..

i still think they wouldn't have termed it "alien fish" if it were from europe or africa or any other non-asian country.

"alien" is reserved for us yellow people.

[ChinaLama]

Hmm well i haven't read of any recent animals fr Europe or Africa, but my guess is it'd still be called "Alien." i mean calling it a "foreign" fish if it's fr europe makes it sound like it's a tourist or something.

[Arex]

[quote:c46b0d6cf2="kasia"]okay, so the consensus is that it isn't a big deal..

i still think they wouldn't have termed it "alien fish" if it were from europe or africa or any other non-asian country.

"alien" is reserved for us yellow people.[/quote:c46b0d6cf2]

I think the term "alien," as applied to humans, is actually most frequently used (at least in CA) to refer to our "brown" brothers from the south of the border.

Alex

[kasia]

that is true, also. the term "alien" just makes me feel uncomfortable. i personally feel that, although i am a second-generation asian-american born and raised here, the vast majority of americans out there will consider me an "alien". a first generation European who only recently immigrated here, however, will most likely never be thought of in the same way.

[SunWuKong]

[quote:9dbe14fc5d="kasia"]that is true, also. the term "alien" just makes me feel uncomfortable. i personally feel that, although i am a second-generation asian-american born and raised here, the vast majority of americans out there will consider me an "alien". a first generation European who only recently immigrated here, however, will most likely never be thought of in the same way.[/quote:9dbe14fc5d]


I'm not so sure about that. I think anybody without an American accent who lives in the U.S. might be thought of as an "alien" by alot of white people. For one thing, I can totally imagine immigrants from South American countries having this exact same problem.

[ChinaLama]

and the Russians...as soon as they open their mouths, it's time for our james bond reflexes to turn on. :roll:

[kasia]

[quote:5ec15b20b4="SunWuKung"][quote:5ec15b20b4="kasia"]that is true, also. the term "alien" just makes me feel uncomfortable. i personally feel that, although i am a second-generation asian-american born and raised here, the vast majority of americans out there will consider me an "alien". a first generation European who only recently immigrated here, however, will most likely never be thought of in the same way.[/quote:5ec15b20b4]


I'm not so sure about that. I think anybody without an American accent who lives in the U.S. might be thought of as an "alien" by alot of white people. For one thing, I can totally imagine immigrants from South American countries having this exact same problem.[/quote:5ec15b20b4]

does that mean you think most white people would view European immigrants as "alien" as well?

[SunWuKong]

[quote:f5699746d0="kasia"][quote:f5699746d0="SunWuKung"][quote:f5699746d0="kasia"]that is true, also. the term "alien" just makes me feel uncomfortable. i personally feel that, although i am a second-generation asian-american born and raised here, the vast majority of americans out there will consider me an "alien". a first generation European who only recently immigrated here, however, will most likely never be thought of in the same way.[/quote:f5699746d0]


I'm not so sure about that. I think anybody without an American accent who lives in the U.S. might be thought of as an "alien" by alot of white people. For one thing, I can totally imagine immigrants from South American countries having this exact same problem.[/quote:f5699746d0]

does that mean you think most white people would view European immigrants as "alien" as well?[/quote:f5699746d0]


i seriously am not sure. i think that would be likely if the european speaks really crappy english. but i think no matter what, asians and south americans will still be more frequently viewed as "aliens".

[ChinaLama]

I think ANYONE with an accent would be viewed as a foreigner; that's how I see things anyway. But yeah, i suppose just going by sight, most ppl would automatically see Asians and Latinos as "alien," however the word alien is pretty much all-encompassing.

in fact maybe the MOSt threatening "alien" in recent history has been Russia, judging by even a lot of post cold war movies (eg Air Force One), and Russians are as white as they can get.