News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Carp Anglers Compete in Western KY Competition

USFWS Biologist Heidi Keuler leaves leaping silver carp in her wake.
USFWS Photo
USFWS Biologist Heidi Keuler leaves leaping silver carp in her wake.

Anglers are on the hunt in western Kentucky for a pesky fish whose exploding population is threatening two of the state's most popular lakes. They're seeking out the fast-breeding Asian carp, which is gobbling up food supplies and starving out other fish species. Kentucky wildlife officials organized the two-day tournament with a goal of clearing 100 tons of the fish from Kentucky and Barkley lakes. The tournament has attracted anglers from Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee who are competing for a $10,000 dollar prize. Ron Brooks, the state's fisheries director, says he hopes the competition will educate the public about the carp outbreak in the freshwater lakes.