In this video from WKDZ Radio out of Cadiz, Ky, you see the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife electrofishing crew putting on a demonstration of how they have been using electrofishing boats to collect Asian carp out of Barkley and Kentucky Lakes for tagging to track Asian carp movements and see how effective a new barrier will be at keeping the carp out of the lakes. This was during a media event for the new bio-acoustic fish fence that is being installed in the Barkley Lock and should be completed this fall. The hope is this device, that emits sound and bubble disturbance, will force carp out of the locking area as the doors open.
See CNN’s news piece on this here.
“These locks open 6,000-plus times a year,” said Ron Brooks, Director of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. “And everytime those chambers open up, the Asian carp have a chance to go up into the reservoirs. And actually, that’s how they became established in those reservoirs to begin with in such high numbers.”
The trench to install the BAFF is being dug right now and the plan is to have the system installed and operational this fall. Then they are said to be studying the effectiveness of it for 3 years. Hopefully work on more BAFF systems can begin before that time if it proves successful early.
More coverage of this media event here:
https://www.wpkyonline.com/2019/07/30/construction-underway-on-asian-carp-barrier-at-barkley-lock/
https://www.wkdzradio.com/2019/07/30/video-asian-carp-electroshock-at-barkley-lock-and-dam/
