Giant goldfish, large enough to require two hands to grip, are causing trouble in the land of 10,000 lakes.
The responsible parties might be Minnesota residents who dump live pet goldfish into public bodies of water in the state. The goldfish were pulled from Keller Lake, 20 miles south of Minneapolis.
“Please don’t release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes! They grow bigger than you think and contribute to poor water quality by mucking up the bottom sediments and uprooting plants,” the City of Burnsville tweeted July 9.
JUDGE ORDERS MINNEAPOLIS TO HIRE MORE POLICE AFTER RESIDENTS SUE CITY
Please don’t release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes! They grow bigger than you think and contribute to poor water quality by mucking up the bottom sediments and uprooting plants.
Groups of these large goldfish were recently found in Keller Lake. pic.twitter.com/Zmya2Ql1E2— City of Burnsville (@BurnsvilleMN) July 9, 2021
Goldfish, considered an invasive species when dumped en masse in lakes, can live up to 25 years. City authorities in Chaska, Minnesota, about 25 miles away from Burnsville, caught 50,000 goldfish, though not as large as the ones caught in Burnsville, in one day in 2020.
Chaska and other Minnesota cities have dumped northern pike, which can grow up to just under 2 feet long, to eat the goldfish and reduce their population.
Throwing live fish into Minnesota public waters is a crime called “illegal fish stocking.”
“A person may not import, transport, or stock in any waters of the state live fish eggs, fish spawn, or immature or adult fish of any species without a permit issued by the commissioner. An angling license does not authorize a person to import, transport, or stock live fish,” the law reads.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Violators of the law are guilty of a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum $3,000 fine in Minnesota.
