Worries over racism, environment drive move to rename common Louisiana fish

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TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Minnesota state Sen. Foung Hawj was never a fan of the "Asian carp" label commonly applied to four imported fish species that are found in Louisiana and are wreaking havoc in the U.S. heartland. They infest numerous rivers and are bearing down on the Great Lakes.

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Hawj and fellow Sen. John Hoffman won approval in 2014 of a measure requiring that Minnesota government agencies refer to the fish as "invasive carp." That came despite backlash from the late radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, who ridiculed it as political correctness.

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Now some other government agencies are taking the same step in the wake of anti-Asian hate crimes that surged during the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service quietly changed its designation to "invasive carp" in April, and the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, representing U.S. and Canadian agencies that are trying to contain the carp, will do likewise Aug. 2, said Charlie Wooley, U.S. agency's Great Lakes regional director.

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"We wanted to move away from any terms that cast Asian culture and people in a negative light," said Charlie Wooley, the agency's Great Lakes regional director.

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