Soon to be Tennessee’s next Speaker of the House Glen Casada will convene an open forum to discuss the invasive Asian Carp Thursday, Dec 20, at 12:45 p.m. at the Cordell Hull building in Nashville (Conference room to be determined). Several current and newly elected State Representatives will attend, including Representative Bruce Griffey who helped organize the event.
TWRA Commission Chair Kurt Holbert along with other TWRA Officials and experts will attend as well. Casada is also especially pleased that representatives from Tennessee’s Commercial and Sport Fishing Industry will be attending. They are expected to provide much needed real-world experiences they face dealing with the Asian Carp on Tennessee’s Rivers on a daily basis. Casada said he is looking forward to hearing from all the various stakeholders on current issues and new developments.
Reauthorization of the Asian Carp Task Force will likely be discussed as well as possible legislative solutions to assist Tennessee’s commercial fishing industry in attacking and cutting down on the invasive species. Many officials believe that Tennessee’s commercial fishermen are the only real option to effectively address the Asian Carp problem.
Casada said he wants all stakeholders to know he is aware of the seriousness of the problem and wants open lines of communications. He is holding the meeting prior to the start of the 111th Legislative Session to emphasize his desire to keep this problem on a front burner for wildlife management.
Casada further stated, “I really appreciate Representative Bruce Griffey for bringing this very important issue to the forefront and to my attention. I look forward to working with him on solving this problem.”
