We've often reported, most recently
here, about the massive number of Asian carp wreaking havoc in the Ohio and Mississippi rivers by damaging sports fisheries and endangering boaters and skiers. Federal agencies have spent more than $200 million to stop the carp from getting into the Great Lakes, while states like Kentucky have been considering options such as commercializing the fish for animal feed and human consumption.
Kentucky seems to have found a solution, by way of China. One day after a Chinese company agreed to buy
Smithfield Foods in the biggest Chinese takeover of an American firm, a Chinese company is investing $2.5 million in Kentucky by opening the first American processing plant for Asian carp.
The plant is in Wickliffe, where the Ohio meets the Mississippi, and at the center of the Asian carp population. (
U.S. Geological Survey map) It is expected to create 50 jobs and process
up to 10,000 pounds of fish per day, which will be shipped to Southeast Asia, reports Robert Bradfield for WPSD-TV in Paducah.The
Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority has given the company preliminary approval for up to $1 million in tax incentives through the Kentucky Business Investment program, reports Bradfield. The
Delta Regional Authority also authorized $307,000 for the company.
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