How did this get here?

[perchfinder]

i think you did the right thing; looks like a cool fish to throw back and let someone else catch it another day for a neat surprise! doesnt look like it can do much harm by eating other fish thats in that pond

Not a huge issue in a pond but when thrown into a river system they cause lots of damage. They suck down spawn, when they school up they silt over gravel beds and ruin the water quality. If you ruin the water quality in a lot of pools you will see the trout vanish.

We have them back in Southern Ontario in many lakes and rivers. The once beautiful Kawartha lakes are now over run with carp. They destroy habitat.

[AK47]

We had carp everywhere back in Europe, rivers, lakes, ponds, they never did anything harmful. Grass carp or asian carp is different story. Besides I do not think they would survive here in Alberta... to cold winters, to short summers for them to reproduce.

[Fishfull Thinker..]

Seen carp of this colour quite often as a child in the Okanagan rivers & creeks ,Neat to see this fish in alberta...

[HUNTER55]

I think your going to find out this fish was put into the water with the last trout school, i did hear about them before and from what i can remember that how thay got there, will need to see what the fish and game say about it, i think ya should have taken it home!! this is for sure the Alberta record!!

[braxxtonn]

hahahaha i bet u were shocked when u 1st seen it!!!!

[keljay]

Hello all;

braxxton, yes I was quite shocked!!! Wen't back there last night with a buddy, and I caught a decent sized sucker. He caught a....wait for it.....wait for it.... CRAYFISH!!! The mysteries from the deep continue at the vast waters of Echodale!!!

FYI I talked with someone from fish and wildlife over the phone on Saturday, he said it sounded like a "quillback carp-sucker"??? I had never heard of this before, but I have heard of quillback's being caught in the SSR and I've heard of a carp, and a sucker. So, I'm not sure if he was pulling my leg, with some sort of "Fish-alope" like creature or not. He also told me that they fill Echodale with water from the SSR so that is more than likely how this fish got here.

But, after I googled Quillback Carpsucker I saw that it is indeed a real fish. The problem is that it isn't what I caught! lol I've emailed him the pics that I have as well as short video that I managed to take while reeling it in. I haven't heard back from him yet.

[kidd]

I posted the pic below last year of a fish that my son found in a pothole trout lake in Central AB. I was told at the time it was a grass carp and that SRD uses them for weed control. Could be the same fish, just that this smaller one doesnt have a lot of color yet to it.
kidd


http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...Attachment.jpg

[MathewsArcher]

Suckers including the quillback do not have barbels.....Some type of carp

[keljay]

Originally Posted by kidd

I posted the pic below last year of a fish that my son found in a pothole trout lake in Central AB. I was told at the time it was a grass carp and that SRD uses them for weed control. Could be the same fish, just that this smaller one doesnt have a lot of color yet to it.
kidd


http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...Attachment.jpg

I think your link has died Kidd. It said page not found when I clicked it. Mathewsarcher, I agree.

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by kidd

I posted the pic below last year of a fish that my son found in a pothole trout lake in Central AB. I was told at the time it was a grass carp and that SRD uses them for weed control. Could be the same fish, just that this smaller one doesnt have a lot of color yet to it.
kidd


http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...Attachment.jpg

Linky no worky

[Fishfinder]

Originally Posted by keljay

Hello all;

braxxton, yes I was quite shocked!!! Wen't back there last night with a buddy, and I caught a decent sized sucker. He caught a....wait for it.....wait for it.... CRAYFISH!!! The mysteries from the deep continue at the vast waters of Echodale!!!

FYI I talked with someone from fish and wildlife over the phone on Saturday, he said it sounded like a "quillback carp-sucker"??? I had never heard of this before, but I have heard of quillback's being caught in the SSR and I've heard of a carp, and a sucker. So, I'm not sure if he was pulling my leg, with some sort of "Fish-alope" like creature or not. He also told me that they fill Echodale with water from the SSR so that is more than likely how this fish got here.

But, after I googled Quillback Carpsucker I saw that it is indeed a real fish. The problem is that it isn't what I caught! lol I've emailed him the pics that I have as well as short video that I managed to take while reeling it in. I haven't heard back from him yet.

Funny stuff Keljay! Everythting but a trout
Wonder what else has made it's way in there from the riv? Seems odd they use water from there to stock Echobeach?

[uicehole]

Looks like some kid's pet goldfish gone wild. Some bleeding heart mom probably released it. People release all kinds of pets they tire of caring for. That's my vote but I'll ask a couple of my biologist friends for their opinion.

[walking buffalo]

Hey Dale: Sorry, but I am going to have to get back to you as to what it might be when I have more time... site recons and meetings for the next few days.
No, this is not a grass carp. See the barbel in the corner of the mouth; grass carp don't have them. And No, it is not a silver carp. The barbel is typical for the common carp. Still, I think it is some sort of hybrid or an introduced species (or at least not a pure common carp). Note that it really helps when the photo has the fins showing.
I would have had to sign a licence for grass carp to be stocked in Echo Dale Pond... I have not done that.
Regards,

Terry Clayton, P.Biol.
Senior Fisheries Biologist, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat
Fish and Wildlife Division
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
2nd Floor, YPM Place
530 8 St. South
Lethbridge, AB, T1J 2J8
phone: 403-382-4362 fax 403-381-5723
email: Terry.Clayton@gov.ab.ca

Visit the Prairie Area Fisheries Management Website:
http://www.srd.alberta.ca/AboutUs/SR...sContacts.aspx

[keljay]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Terry Clayton, P.Biol.
Senior Fisheries Biologist, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat
Fish and Wildlife Division
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
2nd Floor, YPM Place
530 8 St. South
Lethbridge, AB, T1J 2J8
phone: 403-382-4362 fax 403-381-5723
email: Terry.Clayton@gov.ab.ca

Visit the Prairie Area Fisheries Management Website:
http://www.srd.alberta.ca/AboutUs/SR...sContacts.aspx

Wow, thanks for looking into that Walking Buffalo. I still haven't heard back from Fish and Wildlife, but I'm sure if your contact can't quite figure it out they won't be able to either!

Regarding the fins, I'm still kicking myself for not trying to grab a pick of them. Oh well, I'll just have to catch it again!!!

By the way I'm calling it the "Catfish Hunter" in honour of Grumpier Old Men.

It's such a shame people keep letting random fish go all over this province. There are several established populations of goldfish in various places, perch in a pile of trout lakes, and crayfish just about everywhere. Nevermind the other sporadic catches of foreign fish that seem to happen every year (threespine stickleback, sunfish, etc). Just adding to the problems we're having in Alberta lately. Not good, hopefully it's just one lonely fish in this case.

[walking buffalo]

Update from Lethbridge SRD

Hi Dale: My best guess from the photos is that it is a Koi. Koi are Japanese common carp. A fair number of people keep koi in ponds. You can buy them at pet stores. I think this fish has been in ED pond for a while; when cultured fish (e.g., probably brought indoors for the winter, kept in tanks etc.) are released back into the wild, they often revert to more basic colouration - they lose a lot of the bright colours. For example, goldfish tend to revert to a silvery-pewter colouration.

This is probably a case of bucket biology. The fish may have gotten too big for the tank or the pond the owner had, so they released it into the pond instead of killing it. Of course, that is illegal, but that doesn't stop it from happening.

I will have to give it some more thought as to what to do about it. Generally I do not like to net a trout pond - it defeats the purpose of stocking fish for the angler. We will not rotenone the pond - it is far too expensive to do, for a Koi (or a few Koi). In the big scheme of things, Koi don't cause too much harm, compared to a lot of other species. They don't compete with the trout or kill/eat the trout. Sort of like having an old beater/junker car sitting in your neighbour's driveway... sure looks ugly to you and your neighbours, but doesn't cause any real harm.

Regards,

Terry Clayton, P.Biol.
Senior Fisheries Biologist, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat
Fish and Wildlife Division
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
2nd Floor, YPM Place
530 8 St. South
Lethbridge, AB, T1J 2J8
phone: 403-382-4362 fax 403-381-5723
email: Terry.Clayton@gov.ab.ca

Visit the Prairie Area Fisheries Management Website:
http://www.srd.alberta.ca/AboutUs/SR...sContacts.aspx

[DarkAisling]

It is good to know that if it is a Koi, they aren't too invasive.

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by DarkAisling

It is good to know that if it is a Koi, they aren't too invasive.

I disagree regarding their environmental impact. They have the ability to displace native species and effect aquatic habitat. They are a problem in other areas of the world that have experienced escaped/illegally introduced koi establishing a reproducing population. Koi will survive our winters without any difficulty.

I have asked Terry Clayton, P.Biol. Senior Fisheries Biologist, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, to advise us as to action anglers should take regarding Echo Dale and other waters. Catch, keep and kill.

I asked for a bounty on this fish to be posted by SRD, free fishing licence to the person who catches it.

I'll post his reponse.

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

I disagree regarding their environmental impact. They have the ability to displace native species and effect aquatic habitat. They are a problem in other areas of the world that have experienced escaped/illegally introduced koi establishing a reproducing population. Koi will survive our winters without any difficulty.

I have asked Terry Clayton, P.Biol. Senior Fisheries Biologist, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, to advise us as to action anglers should take regarding Echo Dale and other waters. Catch, keep and kill.

I asked for a bounty on this fish to be posted by SRD, free fishing licence to the person who catches it.

I'll post his reponse.

Currently, there are no restrictions on the number of non-game fish kept. Koi are a non-game fish. I think I mentioned before that carp and koi have a large distinctive barbel in the corner of their mouth.
I will contact the City of Medicine Hat Parks Department about possibly getting some signage put up at the Park.
Regards,
Terry Clayton, P.Biol.
Senior Fisheries Biologist, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat
Fish and Wildlife Division
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
2nd Floor, YPM Place
530 8 St. South
Lethbridge, AB, T1J 2J8
phone: 403-382-4362 fax 403-381-5723
email: Terry.Clayton@gov.ab.ca

Visit the Prairie Area Fisheries Management Website:
http://www.srd.alberta.ca/AboutUs/SR...sContacts.aspx

If you catch a koi / carp / goldfish in Echo Dale, kill it and take to SRD.

Sorry, couldn't get him to commit to a free fishing licence for the capture of these fish.