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Roving goldfish a menace in stormwater ponds

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When you love something, like a goldfish, don't set it free.

Releasing goldfish into stormwater ponds is creating headaches not only for native species but for conservation authorities who must capture and euthanize the little Nemo cousins.

Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority's staff consider them an invasive species because they stir up the mud in the ponds affecting the water quality.

Although it's difficult to determine how the goldfish are finding their way into area ponds, David Lembcke, manager of environmental science and monitoring, knows which ponds they're in.

"Ponds that are persistently cloudy - that we couldn't see what's in the pond when we were looking - we sort of had this aha moment and realized ponds with goldfish are turbid (cloudy)," Lembcke said.

Barrie city staff are now seeking ways to rid the Lions Gate Boulevard stormwater pond of the tiny orange fish for fears that when it overflows into Little Lake the goldfish could eat native species' eggs.

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