Angie Yu shows Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear a leather jacket utilizing fish skin at the opening ceremony of the Mighty Rivers Regional Center in Wickliff, Kentucky, in January. PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
When Angie Yu first went to Kentucky to set up a business to turn invasive Asian carp into a profitable business, she was planning to return to her home in Los Angeles in five years.
She settled in Wickliff, Kentucky, a small town with a population of 700 in 2013; established Two Rivers Fisheries; and along with her husband became the first and only Chinese family to reside in the rural town.
Asian carp, which was imported into the United States in the 1970s to clean algae in commercial ponds, spilled into the freshwater system and flourished. It thrived so well that some of the fish would jump into boats. The carp also have crowded out native species and upset the ecological balance.
Americans don't eat Asian carp because the flesh is unfamiliar. On top of that, the numerous bones typical in Asian carp make processing difficult.
Yu, who had previous experience turning unwanted fish parts into useful products, decided to bring Asian carp to people outside the US who view it as a prized protein source.
She started from scratch by first and foremost recruiting fishermen to catch Asian carp. She learned how to get support from and work with the local governments. Yu also explored how to process the fish.
Six years later, in 2019, Yu launched the 64-arce International Fisheries Industrial Park in Ballard County. She successfully attracted seven committed investors—mostly from China—who would process the fish into food, fertilizer and dog treats.
Every part of the fish would be used with zero waste based on her principal to "reduce, reuse, redefine" the invasive fish. Her Two Rivers Fisheries functioned to purchase carp from fishman and conduct the initial process.
In 2019, her company had grown to process 7 million pounds of carp and became the largest fish exporter in the state of Kentucky. With a complete value chain in place, Yu believed her mission was close to being accomplished, and she would soon move back to Los Angeles.
As the production chain was lining up, and the business was poised to grow, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Prior to the pandemic, 90 percent of Yu's products were exported. The pandemic put a full stop to her export business. The only business she was able to maintain was to provide fish bait for lobster in Maine and crawfish in Louisiana.
"For the first time in my life, I had to borrow money from family and friends, especially my son, to pay for electricity and pay my employees," said Yu.
Facing such financial strain and difficulties, Yu did think of quitting, but friends and business partners encouraged her to stay. "People told me that if I shut it down, I will never be able to open it again," she said.
Yu also had help from the local community. The electrician did jobs at the factory despite her inability to pay. The landlord allowed her to be late on rent payment for more than a year so that was able to house some of her employees to keep the operation running.
The pandemic and trade war between the US and China drove the industrial park to the ground. Only one of the seven investors managed to remain, producing dog and cat treats for American consumers.
There are many uses for Asian carp: The skin is used to make wallets, and the fish bones are used to craft a flower bud. PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
When the world began to resume normalcy in 2022, container shipping costs had dramatically increased to $28,000, from $8,000. She had to find new investors and reset the production chain.
"I have always done export business, and I know it's better to sell bread than flour," said Yu, who has searched for more value-added products for Asian carp during the difficult time.
But she's turning away from the fish export business due to the unexpected trade war.
"I will not expand frozen fish export anymore," she said. "Look at the fish head I am exporting to China. I have to pay an extra 40 percent tariff. How can I do business with factors out of my control?"
Yu said she currently serves only existing overseas customers who have had more than a decade's relationship with her.
Instead of the international market, Yu said she's focusing on expanding the Asian American market domestically. The carp fish head, intended for soup, is currently available in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, cities with large Asian populations.
She also has decided to produce more processed fish food products for the US market: fish jerky, smoked or salted fish filet. Grounded fish meat has been made into fish balls, fish cake, fish eggroll and fish dumpling. Grounded fish and fish skin are turned into dog treats.
Yu also made use of the inedible fish parts. Fish skin has been adopted as an eco-friendly material to make fashion products.
Inversa, a company run by a group of young top college graduates, has processed the carp skin into leather material branded as Silverfin. Fashion designers have incorporated the Silverfin to make belts, wallets, shoes and bracelets.
The Italian fashion brand P448 is experimenting with the carp skin as part of its materials for leather shoes.
Yu has developed her own products by making jewelry out of fish bone and using fish skin as accent piece for leather jackets.
Lastly, the remaining fish waste is turned into fertilizer and fish meal.
Out of the ashes of the industrial park, Yu attracted new investors and launched a more ambitious project in January — Mighty Rivers Regional Center, which covers 14 counties along the Mississippi River in four states: Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee.
"We are aiming to attract investment from China, Vietnam and India," said Yu. "We had many US investors who came and left because this is not a project for quick, easy and big profit."
But it's an environmentally sound project, and Yu is proud that her project is helping to fix a problem that requires decades to fix.
Her effort caught the eyes of people who care about the environment. National Geographic explorer Alizé Carrère made a short film Adaptation: Kentucky to document her efforts. The film attracted ecologically conscious young entrepreneurs such as those from Inversa to source fish skin from her.
Her resilience and innovative spirit also have won strong support from three Kentucky governors.
"Angie's innovation, and true innovation! Look at all of these different products using every single bit of a fish that was seen rightfully as an invasive species but finding a market for every single part of it, creating jobs and opportunity along the way," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said at the Mighty Rivers Regional Center's opening ceremony.
"As we see in all these samples, there are plenty of uses for this fish. Think about that, she has turned a nuisance into so many opportunities, and not just one market, but multiple markets across the world," he continued.
More than 10 years ago when Two Rivers Fisheries was launched, Steve Beshear, Andy Beshear's father and then governor, showed up to cut the ribbon in support of Yu's effort. Former governor Matt Bevin also toured her company in 2018.
Yu's Two Rivers Fisheries has processed more than 30 million pounds of Asian carp so far. Her company has won numerous awards, including being named one of the Top 100 small business in 2024 by the US Chamber of Commerce.
The regional center will operate on a much larger scale than Two Rivers Fisheries, said Yu. There will be three processing centers in Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee, and two of them are expected to start operating this year.
"We aim to process 20 to 30 million pounds of carp at each center every year. At full capacity, we will process at least 60 million pounds a year," said Yu. "Our goal for this year is 30 to 40 million pounds."
As the only Chinese in town, Yu said she feels at home in rural Kentucky.
"I have been always curious about new stuff and like to explore. When I first came here, I didn't know anyone. Now I have made many friends. People are very friendly here," said Yu who attends a local church and participates in charity work and other community events.
She has been given numerous awards, including being named a Kentucky Colonel, the highest honor awarded to a citizen by the state as Kentucky's ambassadors of good will and fellowship around the world.
"I have 'achieved' mistakes more than anything else in the past 12 years. Those mistakes are the best lessons for me to develop the future of the Regional Center," Yu said of her decadelong struggle to make a business out of unwanted Asian carp.
