West Virginia donates 15,000 blue catfish for Kentucky River

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has given 15,000 blue catfish to boost fish populations in the Kentucky River.

Acting Fisheries Director Paul Wilkes of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife says the donation from the neighboring state will restock catfish in areas where numbers are low but catfishing is popular.

Kentucky stocked the fish into several areas of the river on Thursday. The stocked fish from West Virginia averaged 11 inches (28 centimeters) long.

Earlier this year, Arkansas donated 38,000 surplus cutthroat trout to Kentucky. It’s the first time that species has been stocked in the Cumberland River below Lake Cumberland.