U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has agreed to his request to deploy the advanced “Unified Method” of fishing for removing Asian Carp, an invasive species in Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. Today’s announcement comes on the heels of Senator McConnell’s May visit to Western Kentucky with members of the Trump Administration, where he discussed options to address the Asian Carp invasion with local elected officials, community leaders and the local media.
One option discussed during the meeting was the “Unified Method,” which 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 (USGS) has successfully deployed it in Missouri and Illinois.