WABASHA, Minn. — Keith and Cate Bell are turning pests into profit in a small factory outside Wabasha. That’s the goal at the K&C Fisheries plant, where carp is king.

The $1.5 million operation opened in late January with hopes of processing invasive common carp and sending them to Europe and Asia, where they’re one of the most-consumed protein meals.

Fishing has been a longtime love for the Bells, both native Australians. Thirty years ago, the business consisted of the two on boats, catching fish one by one.

Today it’s international.

A limited carp supply in Australia forced the business to expand to the United States. The couple chose Minnesota because Keith was serving on an invasive species research board with a University of Minnesota professor who invited him to observe an ice-fishing session in January 2011.

A year later, Bell has more than taken to Minnesota fishing — it’s now his business.

Common carp—as opposed other Asian carp, like the silver carp found near Winona recently—are purchased from licensed area fishermen, who bring thousands of pounds of product in at a time.