Dad becomes local hero with $6 solution to widespread problem: 'By the bucketload'

One dad is leading the way to rid his community of invasive fish. According to Yahoo News, Scott Clark is clearing Queensland of tilapia with a $6 Kmart fishing net. 

While tilapia may be a staple on the table, it's not native to Australia. It's actually native to South and Central America, Southern India, Sri Lanka, and Africa. It was introduced to Australia in the 1970s.

While not all non-native species are invasive, the ones that are outcompete native species for resources. 

@ramrock_ent juvenile Tilapia #tilapia #phillipines #pinoyfoodie #friedtilapia #fish #fishinglife #fishing #tuk #tiktok #australia #fy #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound - Goldfish 🇦🇺

"Sadly, after 15 years exploring Queensland's fresh water, he no longer sees native fish in local water systems — something that experts warn is a direct result of invasive species taking over," Yahoo News stated.

Authorities can't agree on how to tackle the problem. However, the government has banned fishers from eating tilapia or using it as bait because it doesn't want to give the fish any value. 

Scott doesn't agree with this rule because other places that have invasive tilapia, such as the Philippines, do eat it.

"They eat it by the bucketload," he said.

Scott's hard work is paying off, though. He'll hit infested areas multiple times. One creek had thousands of tilapia, and now he only gets a handful of them when he goes. 

After video of his fishing for tilapia went viral, he's seeing more people catching the invasive fish, too.

While Australia doesn't want you to eat this invasive fish, some places in the United States are OK with it. The nonprofit Lionfish Extermination Corp. shared a recipe on TikTok to show people how to cook lionfish, which is invasive in South Florida. And Minnesota officials are encouraging people to eat carp. 

Determining how to eliminate an invasive species is difficult. That's why it's vital to explore critical climate issues to better understand how to take action. 

What single change would make the biggest dent in your personal food waste? Not buying food I don't need 🧐 Freezing my food before it goes bad 🧊 Using my leftovers more effectively 🍲 Composting my food scraps 🌱 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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