FLORENCE, Ky. — Swarms of invasive carp are devastating Kentucky’s economy. That’s the message the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is sending to state lawmakers.

The department is now trying to learn more about the carp, and using a shocking method to manage them.

What You Need To Know

  • The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources says invasive carp are damaging Kentucky’s economy

  • The carp are native to Asia but were brought to the U.S. in the 1970s

  • They made their way into major river systems like the Ohio River, and the population has grown exponentially

  • Now KDFWR has to use methods like electrofishing to manage the population

Aaron Gillum has been fishing in Boone County his whole life.

“We’ve fished the creeks and the rivers and the ponds up here for as long as I can remember. Probably since I was eight, nine, 10 years old,” Gillum said. “Just being out in nature and enjoying time outside.”

But Gillum hasn’t ever done the kind of fishing the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources does to manage invasive Asian carp. Through electrofishing, a quick zap makes a huge school of carp get to jumping.

It’s one measure the KDFWR says it has to take to curb the massive population of these invasive fish. Gillum said he’s all for it.

“They’re doing what they can. But it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the problem right now,” he said.

 

The culprits are Silver, Black, Grass and Bighead Carp. They’re native to Asia but were brought to the U.S. in the 1970s to control algae in wastewater treatment plants.

Because of flooding, they made their way into major river systems like the Ohio River.

Joseph Zimmerman, Federal Aid Coordinator for KDFWR, said historically the department was bringing in 1 to 2 million pounds of carp a year. Now it’s over 9 million pounds.

“The big push and the big growth of this species across our state has made an impact, and something we’re looking at is: are they impacting our native fish communities?” Zimmerman said. “We are extremely concerned with the effect these carp are having on our sport fish communities across the state. Their numbers have gotten to be so high that they are kind of taking that lower-level food chain out of the system. And if that’s the case, then our larger sport fish are gonna suffer.”

In July, The Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture received updates from the KDFWR on efforts to manage the carp in Kentucky’s waterways.

State, federal and private partners have worked with the department since 2010 to get federal funds for battling invasive carp. Increased funding has allowed wildlife authorities to establish carp crews in Frankfort and Murray.

Gillum said he’s more of a catch and release kind of guy, but he’s friends with sports fishers, who are part of a multimillion dollar industry and an important cog in Kentucky’s economy.

“They’re very concerned about it, because that’s their livelihood,” he said. “They have tens of thousands of dollars in equipment. The fishing they remember from when they were kids, it’s not there anymore. The fish are being out-competed by this invasive species.”

Zimmerman said there’s also a safety issue.

“You got a 10, 12, 15 pound fish coming six, seven feet out of the water. They’ve been known to strike drivers, which is a big concern,” he said.

Besides electrofishing, KDFWR is tracking the movement of the fish. The department is also trying to boost the commercial fishing industry to cut down on the carp.

“And that’s really the only mechanism we feel like we have to really make a dent in these populations,” Zimmerman said.

He said even local fishers like Gillum can make an impact.

Zimmerman said the densest populations of the carp are in the Ohio River downstream of Louisville, and in the lower portions of the Tennessee River and Cumberland River in Kentucky and Barkley Lakes.

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