August 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm
[caption id="attachment_401" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Hundreds of goldfish in small outdoor pond in central Maine.[/caption]
When somebody talks about invasive fish species and illegal stocking, most often the fish that come to mind are northern pike, black crappie, and black bass, but in many cases, some of the fish illegally stocked into small ponds and inadvertently into streams and rivers are much smaller and more inconspicuous, goldfish. Yes, that’s right, those seemingly benign little fish you buy 5 for a dollar at pet stores could potentially turn into a $500 per pond problem for Maine IFW. Every year biologists statewide are called out to chemically reclaim small, privately owned or town owned ponds that have become inundated with these common tank fish, with more than 70 percent of these ponds being in southern and central Maine and average 0.6 acres in size. In southern and central Maine alone an average of 3-4 small privately owned ponds are reclaimed annually, with as many as 10 ponds reclaimed some years. In most of these cases, the goldfish have been stocked into man-made ponds by a previous landowner who wanted goldfish, or by the current owner who didn’t realize it was illegal; when the realization of the illegality of those fish in small ponds is acknowledged, owners reach out to IFW biologists for help.
I’m sure about now you’re looking toward those little orange and white fish in your tank and thinking “There’s no way these little fish could possibly make any kind of difference in an outside environment”. The truth is, while goldfish are not necessarily the most aggressive invasive fish, they are fully capable of making a huge impact in any water they got into, regardless of how they got there. Their opportunistic feeding behavior coupled with their unchecked breeding habits and prolific abundance makes them noteworthy competitors for food and living niches when they gain access outdoor waterways.
[caption id="attachment_403" align="alignright" width="300"]
1 of the many large goldfish removed from a small pond in central Maine[/caption]
Ultimately, the concern is any time you take any fish and put it outside in any kind of water, even if it is a little man-made garden pond in your back yard, those fish have the potential to move into other bodies of water and change the ecology of those waters permanently. In ponds with an inlet and/or outlet, goldfish, or any kind of fish, could easily migrate up or down those little streams and infest neighboring waters. Your pond doesn’t have an inlet or outlet? Even so, that doesn’t make your goldfish any less harmful. Many small private ponds are used for trapping bait fish and to the inexperienced fish collector, goldfish may not always be obviously different from other natural bait fish. Problems are compounded when these “bait fish”, goldfish unknowingly included, are used for fishing in other ponds, where there is always some potential of bait fish getting off the hook and getting away. Also, birds must be considered with any outdoor pond. Piscivorous birds are known transporters of species from one body of water to another.
Please remember, any tank fish out of a tank is a dangerous one, with the capabilities of forever devastating the natural ecological make-up of local waters. Goldfish, and any kind of tank fish, are illegal to have in outdoor waters. Once established, they are extremely difficult, and profusely expensive, to get rid of or even to get under control. Please, help to protect Maine waters, keep your tank fish indoors, not in outside ponds.
[caption id="attachment_400" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Only a portion of the fish that were removed from a small pond in central Maine.[/caption]
Hundreds of goldfish in small outdoor pond in central Maine.[/caption]
When somebody talks about invasive fish species and illegal stocking, most often the fish that come to mind are northern pike, black crappie, and black bass, but in many cases, some of the fish illegally stocked into small ponds and inadvertently into streams and rivers are much smaller and more inconspicuous, goldfish. Yes, that’s right, those seemingly benign little fish you buy 5 for a dollar at pet stores could potentially turn into a $500 per pond problem for Maine IFW. Every year biologists statewide are called out to chemically reclaim small, privately owned or town owned ponds that have become inundated with these common tank fish, with more than 70 percent of these ponds being in southern and central Maine and average 0.6 acres in size. In southern and central Maine alone an average of 3-4 small privately owned ponds are reclaimed annually, with as many as 10 ponds reclaimed some years. In most of these cases, the goldfish have been stocked into man-made ponds by a previous landowner who wanted goldfish, or by the current owner who didn’t realize it was illegal; when the realization of the illegality of those fish in small ponds is acknowledged, owners reach out to IFW biologists for help.
I’m sure about now you’re looking toward those little orange and white fish in your tank and thinking “There’s no way these little fish could possibly make any kind of difference in an outside environment”. The truth is, while goldfish are not necessarily the most aggressive invasive fish, they are fully capable of making a huge impact in any water they got into, regardless of how they got there. Their opportunistic feeding behavior coupled with their unchecked breeding habits and prolific abundance makes them noteworthy competitors for food and living niches when they gain access outdoor waterways.
[caption id="attachment_403" align="alignright" width="300"]
1 of the many large goldfish removed from a small pond in central Maine[/caption]
Ultimately, the concern is any time you take any fish and put it outside in any kind of water, even if it is a little man-made garden pond in your back yard, those fish have the potential to move into other bodies of water and change the ecology of those waters permanently. In ponds with an inlet and/or outlet, goldfish, or any kind of fish, could easily migrate up or down those little streams and infest neighboring waters. Your pond doesn’t have an inlet or outlet? Even so, that doesn’t make your goldfish any less harmful. Many small private ponds are used for trapping bait fish and to the inexperienced fish collector, goldfish may not always be obviously different from other natural bait fish. Problems are compounded when these “bait fish”, goldfish unknowingly included, are used for fishing in other ponds, where there is always some potential of bait fish getting off the hook and getting away. Also, birds must be considered with any outdoor pond. Piscivorous birds are known transporters of species from one body of water to another.
Please remember, any tank fish out of a tank is a dangerous one, with the capabilities of forever devastating the natural ecological make-up of local waters. Goldfish, and any kind of tank fish, are illegal to have in outdoor waters. Once established, they are extremely difficult, and profusely expensive, to get rid of or even to get under control. Please, help to protect Maine waters, keep your tank fish indoors, not in outside ponds.
[caption id="attachment_400" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Only a portion of the fish that were removed from a small pond in central Maine.[/caption]
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