Fisheries biologists with the Western Kentucky Fishery District shared some good news this week — commercial fishermen produced another record-breaking year of Asian carp harvest in 2020.
According to officials, a total of 7.66 million pounds of Asian carp were removed from Kentucky waters by commercial fishers.
In addition, they say Part 1 of a research project organized by the United States Geological Survey conducted in Pisgah Bay at Kentucky Lake in January has concluded and resulted in the removal of over 38,000 pounds of Asian carp.
Officials add that Part 2 of the research project will be conducted February 8-24 at Smith Bay at Kentucky Lake. During this time, the bay will be closed to boat traffic.
They say the goals of the project are to determine the effectiveness of the Modified-Unified Method, response of tagged fishnets and driving techniques, and testing the precision and accuracy of acoustic methods to measure fish abundance.
Lyon County Judge-Executive Wade White has been instrumental in the fight against Asian carp, as well as pushing for funding at the state and federal level to help eradicate the invasive species from local waterways and lakes, specifically Barkley Lake and Kentucky Lake in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.
