The War On Carp continues in western Kentucky, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announcing Thursday that a new method of removing Asian carp will be used to further control its population.
According to a news release, the advanced “Unified Method” of fishing for removing Asian Carp—an invasive species of fish that is having extreme impacts on both other fish populations and lake tourism—will be deployed to Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. The method involves corralling Asian Carp into one location using electronic technology and extracting the fish from the water with specialized nets. This technique has been successful in controlling Asian Carp populations abroad, and the U.S. Geological Survey has successfully deployed it in Missouri and Illinois.
Kentucky Senator McConnell says, “Today’s announcement is a major step forward in Kentucky’s War on Asian Carp. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has answered my call to deploy an aggressive strategy to combat these invasive and dangerous species in Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. With coordination among several agencies at all levels, we can help protect Kentucky’s treasured waters, support our boaters and anglers, and bolster Western Kentucky’s $1.2 billion fishing economy.”
The non-native species presents a danger to boaters when they jump out of the water when agitated by the noise of engines.