Colorado Parks and Wildlife crews fish carp out of Denver-area pond in effort to control invasive species
The carp had taken over at Jack Tomlinson Park, so Colorado Parks and Wildlife crews geared up to deal with it this week. Armed with electric rods and nets, the wildlife agency sought to take out the invasive species that had been wreaking havoc in what was once called Birdland Lake once and for all.
"If you see a carp, you've got to yell 'Carp, Carp, Carp!" Kara Van Hoose, agency spokeswoman, told CBS Colorado on one of CPW's boats on Monday.
There was a small fleet on the water. About four or five boats were aiming to top their last haul: over 40 of the filter-feeding fish that had grown into the size of king salmon. They've been a part of this area for over 30 years. Van Hoose said that back in the 1990s a government study on the effectiveness of carp as algae feeders on stillwater ponds and lakes happened there.
The carp didn't turn out to be great feeders of harmful blooms but instead were greatly effective at eating everything else.
"We stock this pond," Van Hoose explained. "So we put different kinds of fish in here and we're not really finding them, so that tells us that these carp are out-competing natural fish for resources."
CPW's strategy was to take the boats -- equipped with portable power generators and electric attachments that resemble a jellyfish -- into the water. The electric attachments are meant to stun the large fish and bring them close to the surface. CPW then nets them and takes them out of the pond.
On Monday the crews would get the fish easily sometimes. Other times, the carp would come to and escape from the nets. As wildlife officials said on the boat, it's usually the invasive species that are the smartest and craftiest. Otherwise, it would be easy to keep ecosystems balanced.
Onlookers, many of whom have lived with the carp in the pond for their entire life, were treated to a show.
"Oh my gosh, you should these fish!" one passerby said. "I don't know how such big fish could live in such a little pond. I think it's awesome they can get out here and capture these carp and hopefully get the pond back to its natural order."
"If they're not particular to this area, they should be gone," said another person.
There's not much CPW can do with the fish. They were loaded onto the bed of a pickup truck. The solution they use to kill the fish make them unusable for consumption by humans or other species, and because the carp are invasive to the state they can't put them in any other waterway. Ultimately, the final count on Monday was 45. That was far above the projections of some CPW members who said maybe they'd find 18 to 20. More carp are still lurking, but CPW is ready for another battle on the pond. And Arvada residents and those that live around Jack Tomlinson Park are glad that they are.
