Fish and wildlife agencies to employ gathering method to reduce Asian carp in Western Kentucky waterways

Using the Unified Method in Missouri
(Missouri Department of Conservation photo)

Asian carp are an increasing problem in Western Kentucky waterways, prompting officials to try everything from bounties to selling the catches to China. This week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced another tactic in the war on carp: the "unified method," in which a team of fishers "gathers the Asian carp in one area by using electronic technology, then the fish are extracted from the water with specialized netting," Garrison Simpson reports for WHAS-TV in Louisville.

The method has been fairly successful in removing Asian carp in Missouri and the Illinois River, and allows a large amount of fish to be harvested quickly, Cory Sharber reports for WKMS-FM in Murray.

Ron Brooks of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources said the first extraction could take place in February or March, and that the carp would then be given to nearby processors for free. "Brooks said the cost of the operation will probably not be known until after it has been completed," Sharber reports.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is running for re-election, announced in a press release that the move to use the unified method was at his request. Reducing the Asian carp population is the number one issue he wants to accomplish in Western Kentucky in the next few years, the press release said.