Residents of Preston were surprised to spot an unusual visitor in the Boardwalk Pond in Riverside Park last week as several koi fish were seen swimming through the waters.
A fish that is not native to Ontario and could potentially cause havoc to local ecosystems, the residents banded together to catch the unwanted guests and remove them from the park.
Jim Kloepfer is a local wildlife photographer who often documents the many wild species found in Cambridge and the Preston area. He made a post on Facebook asking for help in catching the colourful creatures and the people of Preston were able to catch at least two of the three in the pond.
"These fish are extremely invasive and will devastate that pond! They will eat all tadpoles and likely baby turtles. Please someone catch and destroy these fish," wrote Kloepfer.
The City of Cambridge has confirmed there were two koi found in Riverside park, and that one was dead when park crews showed up on site.
Mike Hausser, director of operations for the city has been out personally to try and spot the fish swimming around the park to see if they have laid eggs or reproduced, and for now it seems the pond is in the clear.
"Luckily in this particular case, it's a fairly isolated pond in the middle of a swampy area so it's not directly connected to our watercourses and streams," said Hausser. "But if it was allowed to propagate and lay eggs then it would definitely impact the other local fish and amphibians for sure."
According to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, koi are an incredibly invasive species that can eat native food sources and destroy vegetation. They can also carry various diseases such as koi herpes virus (KHV) that can devastate local fish populations.
James Bow is the communications director for rare Charitable Research Reserve and would hate to see pets be released into the wild and have them disrupt the beautiful ecosystems that live in Cambridge.
"It would be a terrible thing to have happen to local fish populations here in the area," added Bow. "Similarly to the Asian carp that is terrorizing the Great Lakes so much so they have to electrify the Chicago River, and invasive species is bad news."
Hausser added that the city has not had many cases of people releasing pets into the wild, but would not recommend anyone do so.
"If you have a pet you cannot care for do not release it into the wild. Often times they will end up dead and on the rare chance could destroy natural habitats," he said.
The city will continue monitoring the pond for any other koi fish they see and will take appropriate steps to make sure they do not affect any other areas.
