HSNP asks public to not dump pet fish into park’s waterways
After two nonnative fish were spotted in Hot Springs National Park, the park is asking people not to dump unwanted pet fish in the park’s waterways.
Park Ranger Ashley Weymouth said two koi fish were spotted in Ricks Pond on Sunday. “We had two of our interpretation crew out looking at waterways (and they) found two koi fish in a pond,” Weymouth said, noting the employees took pictures of the fish and showed them to the natural resources manager.
On Tuesday, the park sent a crew back to the pond to try to find the fish. She said they “went out with nets (and) did a whole survey” but “didn’t find them.”
Weymouth said the park is working with the U.S. Forest Service and a biologist will come to the park to help try to track the fish down.
The reason they are putting so much effort into finding the fish is because koi are not native to the park and are an invasive species that can cause harm to it.
“The biggest thing is that they can disrupt the ecosystem,” Weymouth said, noting koi can get very large and take up more resources from the native fish. She said a new species of fish being added to the pond can “throw a wrench into the water system.”
Weymouth said the fish that were spotted were both “quite large.” Due to their size, they’re “not sure how long they’ve been in there.” She said issues like this do not happen very often in the park.
Instead of dumping fish into the waterways at the park, Weymouth said owners should find other places for unwanted fish.
She recommended calling a pet store or to “talk to a local veterinarian” about where to send the fish. She said dumping fish into lakes Catherine or Ouachita is also a bad idea, as the fish “can cause problems” in those bodies of water too.
If an invasive species like the koi is spotted in the park by visitors, Weymouth said they should take a picture of it and note information about where and when the photo was taken. “Email the park with that info and we’ll send it on to the natural resources department,” she said.