Carp not TARP for China’s Lin

Another clean up plan. A further attempt to fix a toxic legacy. And more talk of improving liquidity.

But while Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s latest proposals focus on unblocking the US financial system, Lin Jianhua (head of the Taihu Lake Fishing Administration) is more concerned with unchoking China’s third largest freshwater lake.

Lake Taihu is currently clogged with blue-green algae, following years of untreated sewage flow from neighbouring industries.

Lin’s clean up strategy is less TARP and more carp, however. About 10 million fish, including silver carp and grass carp, will be released into the lake. The fish can consume 50kg of algae and other plankton life in the course of gaining 1kg in weight.

“Using the algae digestion ability of the fish is expected to fundamentally rehabilitate the lake,” Lin says.

A case, perhaps, of a radical new solution for sub-grime?

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