Discarded pet goldfish menacing Minnesota lakes

July 14, 2021
image of football-sized goldfish held above a boat

Minnesota state officials are pleading with the public to stop discarding unwanted pet fish into ponds and lakes. They are non-native and keep growing.

The goldfish, which can grow to the size of a football, compete with native species for food and increase algae in lakes. They contribute to poor water quality by uprooting plants and disturbing the sediment at the bottom of ponds and lakes.

The goldfish were found this month in Keller Lake during a water quality survey done by Carp Solutions, a start-up company founded by Przemek Bajer, that develops new technologies for controlling carp, a larger cousin of goldfish.

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