(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — Tennessee House Speaker-Elect Glen Casada (R-Thompson’s Station), State Representative Bruce Griffey (R-Paris), House members, officials with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), and additional stakeholders will meet this week to discuss the infiltration of Asian Carp into Tennessee’s waterways.
The open discussion will begin at 12:45 PM on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, and will be held in Conference Room 5C of the Cordell Hull Building — located at 425 5th Avenue North in Nashville.
Several current and newly elected General Assembly members, the TWRA, as well as representatives from the Tennessee commercial & sport fishing industry are expected to attend. The focus of the meeting will center on how to better address the inundation of this disruptive species of fish in our area lakes, rivers, and streams.
Potential solutions include the reauthorization of the Asian Carp Task Force, and other legislation designed to enable our commercial fishing industry to effectively combat this critical environmental and economic issue.
According to the TWRA, Asian Carp have overrun both Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake, migrating from regional waters like the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers. Through the first six months of 2018, commercial fishermen have caught an estimated one million pounds of carp in both of these Kentucky waterways.
The carp are also turning up in the Cumberland River and other Tennessee bodies of water — including the Tennessee River. They can cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem by eliminating the food supply of native species and also endanger the safety of recreational water sports enthusiasts.
“This species poses an incredible danger to our environment and to our fishing industry,” said Representative Griffey. “I am grateful to Speaker-Elect Casada for joining this important discussion as we work on immediate solutions to better protect our waterways from these destructive fish.”
“Representative Griffey is passionate about this issue and understands it is extremely important both locally and across our state,” said Speaker-Elect Casada. “I appreciate his desire to work with his legislative colleagues, members of the TWRA, and additional stakeholders within this critical industry to create solutions that will ensure our area lakes, rivers, and streams are preserved for our future generations.
For additional information about Asian Carp, please click here.
For all media inquiries, please contact Doug Kufner at (615) 741-2524.