South metro city reminds public not to release goldfish into ponds, lakes

KSTP

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The city of Burnsville is reminding the public to not release their pet goldfish into ponds and lakes.

The city’s Twitter account showed photos of some fish captured recently in Keller Lake.

The fish are much larger than a typical goldfish.

When goldfish are deposited into ponds and lakes, they grow and contribute to poor water quality by churning up bottom sediments and uprooting plants, according to the tweet.

"I think it is unfortunately quite common," said Madeline Seveland, Carver County’s water resources education coordinator.

[City of Burnsville]

Seveland said this is something they’ve been working on since 2019.

"We found them in the thousands," Seveland said. "It’s a pretty significant ecological disruption in a water body."

That’s why the Carver County Water Management Organization is tracking their habits and working on ways to safely remove them.

"What we’re hoping is that the data we get from that and the information we learn can be useful to a number of other agencies around the Midwest and Minnesota that are struggling with the same issue," Seveland said.

Seveland also said there are proper ways to get rid of goldfish.

"We recommend if you have a goldfish or really any aquarium pet that you no longer want or can’t take care of that you find it a new home, you can check with pet stores or your local veterinarian," Seveland said.