By Craig Moorhead
Special for the Argus
Three gravity boxes were parked overnight in Ed Strong’s workshop last week, where the temperature held just above freezing. They’re the kind of wagons we all see in the fall, hauling corn, oats, or beans. In the morning a semi with a reefer trailer pulled up to Strong’s New Albin business, E&P Fisheries. A farm elevator was positioned into the truck, and the first wagon’s spout was opened. A “crop” emerged that wasn’t grain. It was a stream of carp.
Mississippi carp sent abroad
“They send some to New York and Chicago… just the way they are,” Strong said with a nod towards the truck. These however, were going to Stoller Fisheries of Spirit Lake, Iowa, for some special processing.
Rich Anderson, who drives the truck for Stoller Fisheries, talked quietly about the next step for these fish. After machine-filleting, “most of our stuff is minced and it goes right to another processor in New Jersey. We have a Rabbi in the (Spirit Lake) plant. It’ll be made into kosher gefilte fish. You take a fish that most people throw back and we make a usable product out of it,” Anderson observed.
A full load for Anderson’s cold trailer is 40,000 pounds. That translates into three to four gravity boxes. How often does he get to New Albin? “When they catch,” he says with a smile. “They’ll call the boss and he’ll let them know when he needs fish, or he’ll call and say, ‘You want to go fishing?’”
That’s when Strong calls his friends in the commercial fishing business and lays a plan. In the middle of winter, they’ll use four-wheelers with trailers to go out on the Mississippi River near New Albin, hauling saws to cut large holes in the ice, sturdy plastic tubs, dip nets for handling fish, and the seine.
It’s a tough job, and it needs to be done quickly. The Spirit Lake processing company wants a full load, and they’ve got to be fresh. It takes about 110 tubs to fill each gravity box. Around 375 of the boxes will make a semi load, all lifted into the small trailers by hand, hauled in from the river, and eventually transferred to the loading wagons.
New Albin fish market
“I’ve been fishing all my life,” Strong says. “I just started this little market here last year,” he said about his fish market on Rogers Street in New Albin he and his wife Pam own. The sign behind him reads “E & P Fisheries, Dressed & Smoked Fish.” Strong looks towards the building. “I sell our catfish, I sell what we catch, and we smoke a little carp out back.” Prior to last year, all his fish were sold to buyers for processing.
“It took a little while, getting it started,” Strong explains. He’s had to bring in stainless steel equipment for dressing his catch. Along one wall stands a shiny metal table which once resided in a creamery in Waukon. Along another wall is a stainless sink for hand washing, with another specialized sink nearby. “That three compartment sink, that came out of a McDonald’s when they re-modeled.” One area is for washing implements, another to rinse, a third to sterilize. Strong says he also has an ice machine, walk-in cooler, and freezer to store his local seafood. He points to the state inspection certificate on the wall. “July, 2009. I wish I would have done this 30 - some years ago… I enjoy it.”
A sign on the wall reads, “Catfish Fillets, Smoked Carp, Pickled Fish, Turtle, Catfish Cheeks, Fish Jerky, Smoked Catfish.” Strong explains what’s available. “Smoked carp’s pretty much on hand, pretty much steady. Catfish and catfish cheeks are more or less seasonal. I froze up a bunch of catfish fillets in pound packages and I didn’t have enough. Ran out around Christmas. This is my first year (retail). Next year I’m going to try to freeze up more.”
Stoller Fisheries can process an entire 40,000 pound load in one day. According to their website, they handle seven million pounds of carp a year, buying from September through May. Besides gefilte fish, they offer other minced fish, seasoned minced carp, fish meal for organic farming, fish food, and bait. They also sell dried carp pituitary glands to fish farmers, used to stimulate spawning, and are “the world’s largest producer of carp roe (tarama).”
Other buyers
Local fishermen also sell to a wholesaler in Fulton, Ill. Buyers who bring in live tanks have also bought from area commercial fishers. Strong says one live hauler, who will remain nameless, was taking buffalo fish, a fairly valuable commodity. “We didn’t get our money out of it… we were stuck for over $4,500. That hurts. We don’t make much money to start with.” That’s one reason he likes to sell a little fish on the retail market.
Strong says customers will typically find him at the market towards the latter part of the week. “Anytime I’m here I’ll sell,” he says. “Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays are some of my main days, but any day is okay if I’m here… customers can call first. Call and make sure.” Ed and Pam Strong’s number is 563-544-4911.
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