If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em.

Republican Assembly candidate Brandon Shoemaker of Selma is planning a "Delta Smelt Barbecue" fundraiser in October.

The Delta smelt, of course, is that small endangered fish that's playing a big role in water politics. Valley farmers bemoan environmental protections that restrict delta water pumping to protect the one-of-a-kind species. Environmentalists counter that the fish's decline is a symptom of the estuary's environmental decline, which they partially blame on the pumping.

Shoemaker, who's running for the seat now held by Juan Arambula, I-Fresno, sides with the farmers.

"Sometimes the fish eats you, but in the end, you get to eat the fish," says his invite.

He's not actually grilling Delta smelt. That would be illegal, said Shoemaker, a former detective with the Selma Police Department. Rather he plans to buy other smelt species that live elsewhere -- which apparently are sold on the Internet.

He said his barbeque "is to try and bring attention to the fact that there's a lot of different varieties of smelt out there. But for some reason this is the only one that's protected and this is the only one that's literally choking this Valley to death because there's no water."

photo credit: www.walleyedirect.com/