Thousands of dead fish line the banks of the Cumberland River below Barkley Dam and along the face of the dam.
Kentucky Department of Fish and WildlifeLIVINGSTON COUNTY, KY — If you smell something fishy at Barkley Dam, your nose is not deceiving you.
The Kentucky department of Fish and Wildlife has seen thousands of silver carp, a type of Asian carp, showing up dead in the dam.
Fisheries Program Coordinator Jessica Morris said they noticed the situation last week.
"The cause of death of most of the fish we've seen so far seems to be that they're coming through the turbines at the powerhouse station there at Barkley Lock and Dam," said Morris.
Morris said as they swim through the turbines, it pulls the fish through, into the tail waters, often cutting them into pieces.
"We're not sure what's causing it at Smithland, so that's why we're sending a crew up there to investigate that today, and we're also sending fish off to get tested,” Morris said.
This photo shows a dead silver carp along the Paducah riverfront.
Morris said it is normal for them to migrate downstream into Lake Barkley.
Their deaths are a result of the dam's closed gates.
The department opened the gates, sending the fish down the Cumberland River, and eventually the Ohio River.
A few of the silver carp have already found their way along the Paducah riverfront, with more on the way. Morris said you should not be worried.
"It is a good thing to see dead silver carp coming down the water, because they're an invasive species and we don't want them here in the first place," said Morris. "But it's not something that you have to be on high alert about. I mean, obviously, they're going to smell, but they aren't going to be carrying like a disease or anything that you should be worried about."
The amount of dead carp you may see where you live depends on how much water is released from local dams.
You will not see the fish in masses in places like the riverfront, because of the open water.
Morris said it will end when fish stop swimming into the turbines and getting cut. In past years, this has lasted for a couple of weeks.