Device Tested to Block Asian Carp at Barkley Dam

Kentucky officials say researchers will conduct an experiment on Lake Barkley with an environmentally friendly way to block the spread of Asian carp.

The Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet says the Bio-Acoustic Fish Fence, a riverbed bubbler and sound system, will be tested below Barkley Dam. The agency says the fence creates a curtain of bubbles and a powerful sound signal, which produces a "wall of sound" underwater.

The European technology was originally designed to steer migrating salmon back into main river channels. 

Asian carp are a major concern throughout the Mississippi River basin, including the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, which form Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.

The cabinet says anglers who fish in parts of the lock canal may be affected.