Kentucky wildlife officers catch illegal fishing activity

ASHLAND, Ky. (WOWK) — Over the past seven months, Kentucky wildlife officers fought crimes against fish.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources served multiple warrants last week involving the illegal harvest and sale of catfish.

All ten warrants across the Commonwealth are the product of the long-term investigation Operation River Raid. The statewide investigation, which includes the Ashland area, was launched after game wardens received numerous tips and complaints about the illegal activity.

Operation River Raid covers multiple facets of illegal catfishing, from the moment they are caught to when they are sold.

Captain Jason Ice said the department has been collecting the most information possible to crack down on the unlawful operations.

“There is some investigation into some of the reporting that we got in the past has been from legal methods to licensing,” he said. “There’s many different things that we’ve been looking into as far as that goes.”

In the state of Kentucky, limits and regulations apply to the water. For instance, bigger species of catfish are limited to one catch per day, while smaller species are not regulated, and fishers must have the proper licenses or permits to legally partake.

Catfish and other wildlife industries also offer monetary value to the state.

Ice said these rules are in place to ensure everyone can enjoy the resource and the species itself can thrive.

“It’s something that we need to, as a department, look into maybe just ensuring that people were harvesting fish and wildlife correctly,” he said, “but also on the commercial side, that they’re reporting it accurately.”

The investigation is still ongoing, and wardens are asking anyone who witnesses or obtains knowledge of illegal catfishing to report it through their tip 1-800-25-ALERT or on their app.

The department plans to release more information regarding Operation River Raid once it wraps up all leads and warrants.