The invasive Asian carp species will be renamed due to the term's 'horrible, xenophobic connotations' in the wake of a surge of anti-Asian hate crimes.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has now joined state agencies in Minnesota in referring to the species as 'invasive carp', despite critics ridiculing the move as misplaced political correctness.
Officials claimed that calling the fish 'Asian' and advocating their culling had xenophobic connotations - but the move sparked mockery on Twitter where users pointed out that the term referred to where the fish were originally imported from.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has now joined state agencies in Minnesota in referring to Asian carp (pictured) as 'invasive carp'
The move sparked mockery on Twitter where users pointed out that the term referred to where the fish were originally imported from
'This could be referring to Asian people as being an invasive species, which is just a horrible connotation,' said Charlie Wooley, director of its Great Lakes regional office.
'We wanted to move away from any terms that cast Asian culture and people in a negative light.'
Twitter users ridiculed the move on Sunday.
'So we can't say #AsianCarp anymore because it's xenophobic & people might get the wrong idea, think Asians are aggressively invasive & need their population controlled, like the #fish?' one tweeted.
'They're refered to as that because that's where we imported em from, not because we're racist.'
Another wrote: 'One of THE dumbest things I've ever heard. Asian carp are called "Asian Carp" because they originated IN ASIA.
'This is not a racist thing. Burmese pythons? Native to Burma. Florida alligators? Native to Florida.
'Instead of changing the names of animal species STOP THE HATE.'
Minnesota state Sen. Foung Hawj was never a fan of the 'Asian carp' label commonly applied to four imported fish species that are wreaking havoc in the U.S. heartland, infesting numerous rivers and bearing down on the Great Lakes.
But the last straw came when an Asian business delegation arriving at the Minneapolis airport encountered a sign reading 'Kill Asian Carp.'
Hawj and fellow Sen. John Hoffman in 2014 won approval of a measure requiring that Minnesota agencies refer to the fish as 'invasive carp,' despite backlash from the late radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, who ridiculed it as political correctness.
'I had more hate mail than you could shake a stick at,' Hoffman said.
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.
The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, representing agencies in the U.S. and Canada that are trying to contain the carp, will do likewise Aug. 2, he said.
The moves come as other wildlife organizations consider revising names that some consider offensive, including the Entomological Society of America, which this month dropped 'gypsy moth' and 'gypsy ant' from its insect list.
Yet the switch to 'invasive carp' might not be the final say.
As experts and policymakers have learned in their long struggle against the prolific and wily fish, almost nothing about them is simple.
Scientists, technical journals, government agencies, language style guides, restaurants and grocery stores may have ideas about what to call them, based on differing motives - including getting more people to eat the critters.
That's a priority for researchers who have spent years developing technologies to stem the incursion - from underwater noisemakers and electric currents to netting operations.
But the dish hasn't caught on with U.S.
