Kentucky will have its first ever fish house contract to help fight the Asian carp problem in western Kentucky. Governor Matt Bevin announced Tuesday in Paducah that Kentucky Fish Center, LLC of Wickliffe has won the contract to establish the fish house, which will expand the market for Kentucky-caught Asian carp.
A release says the operator of Two Rivers Fishery, Angie Yu, will own and operate the Kentucky Fish Center where the Asian carp caught in the state will be sold in daily auctions open to all interested buyers. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will oversee the auctions.
Officials say by buying carp caught in state waterways at a guaranteed price of 19 cents per pound, and selling the fish to both domestic and international uses in a daily auction, the fish house will play a key role in growing the market for Kentucky carp.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is pledging up to $4 million in loans and incentives for the fish house and commercial fishermen. Officials indicate the department will pay commercial anglers an incentive of 5 cents per pound for their catch, supplementing the fish house’s guaranteed 14 cents per pound purchase price, to make fishing for carp in Kentucky’s waters economically attractive. The incentives offered under the new distribution center contract will guarantee anglers a buyer and a nearby place to offload their catch.
According to the release, the program includes a $734,000 secured loan for fixed assets to assist with the start-up of the fish house. Performance-based incentives of $570,000 to $700,000 a year will be awarded if the escalating yearly harvest goals of 5 to 20 million pounds of fish are met. The secured loan would be forgiven in 2024 if the 20 million pound goal is met that year. The program will be fully funded by boat registration funds.
Department officials estimate the effort would cost $3.5 million a year if it were run entirely by the state and would produce a harvest far less than the 20 million pound goal of the partnership announced Tuesday.