Murdoch University says Goldfish Destroy Freshwater Ecosystems - Why Jamaica must avoid Goldfish becoming Kingpins in our Rivers

“They are eating up the food resources and using up the habitat that our native fish would otherwise be using”

Swan River Trust's river science environment officer, Dr Jeff Cosgrove, commenting on their published research into the effect of dumping Goldfish and Koi Carp into Freshwater Waterways

If this latest bit of research is to be believed, this is more reason why I have no plans to own a pet Goldfish or Koi Carp.

At least, based on research by Murdoch University’s Freshwater Fish Group and Fish Health Unit in Australia whose study suggest that Goldfish  introduced into freshwater environments literally grow to become threats to aquatic biodiversity as noted in the article “Check Out This Photo of a Pet Fish That Grew Into a Feral Aquatic Killer”, published 9.04.2015 by David Stout, Time.

In their study, published on their Freshwater Group Website they discovered that Goldfish and Koi Carp, often kept as household pets, are miniature while inside the confines of their fishbowl.

So how do they grow so large? And if this is happening in Australia, can it happen here in Jamaica as well, where many Jamaicans own exotic Goldfish and Koi Carp as pets?

Murdoch University Freshwater Fish Group say Goldfish and Koi Carp destroy Freshwater Ecosystems - Kingpins of the Waterways

 But once introduced into the wild, often by persons thinking that they’re setting them free, its becomes an all-you-can-eat buffet for them as noted in the article “Dumped aquarium fish decimating native species, hurting habitats”, published Wednesday 1 April 2015 12:02PM, by Jeremy Story Carter, ABC Australia.

They are able to rapidly grow to gargantuan sizes, eating up algae and plankton that native species would normally eat that are rich in protein and Nitrates that boost their growth. Koi Carp, for example, can grow to be up to 1 metre long far larger than the five to ten (5 to 10) cm species native to a typical freshwater lake and way bigger than they’d grow in captivity.

Take a look at this picture of a Koi Carp captured by the Murdoch University’s Freshwater Fish Group of Goldfish in the wild which was originally released by their owners.

Being bigger from eating from an unlimited supply of food, unlike being in the fishbowl, translates to being more aggressive, albeit this is more of a correlation than a causation of aggressiveness. 

This aggressiveness makes then out-compete the smaller fish in the lakes and rivers that many persons introduce them, starving the other smaller native species in the process as they grow to enormous sizes as this video below dramatically demonstrates.

Meanwhile, as Goldfish and Koi Carp tend to be from Japan or South East Asia, they introduce diseases into the local fish stock, potentially decimating any fish present and disrupting the Ecosystem by changing the Biodiversity of the freshwater fish’s environment.

Interestingly too, the phenomenon isn't restricted to Australia. According to Discovery News' DNews YouTube Channel, it's already happened in Lake Tahoe in South Dakota, a lake wedged between California and Nevada, west of Carson City in the United States of America.

 Research Fellow at the Fish Health Unit, Stephen Beatty has informed Business Insider that Goldfish caught in the Vasse River in Washington's southwest are also disrupting the ecosystems there with their largess as explained in the article “Incredible pictures of giant killer goldfish stalking Western Australia's rivers”, published APR 6 2015, 8:58 AM by PETER FARQUHAR, Business Insider

So it's clear then that they have more food. Goldfish and Koi Carp are the Feral cats of the Freshwater World, out competing local freshwater fish for scarce food resources.

Goldfish are the Feral Cats of the Freshwater - Goldfish are the Next Lionfish for Freshwater fish

To be honest I never knew this, albeit I was aware that some fish, like the Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans), eat other smaller fish in the sea as noted in my blog article entitled “@RFSeafoods vs the Lionfish - KFC iTwist in Yendi Phillip's Emerald Forest”.

Luckily for Jamaica, we're finally getting the Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) population under control.  NEPA’s (National Environment and Planning Agency) MTIASIC (Mitigating the Threat of Invasive Alien Species in the Insular Caribbean) National Lionfish Project has been recording a success rate of 66% Reduction since April 2014 as reported in my blog article entitled  “National Lionfish Project reaps 66% reduction as Lionfish Population is down - NEPA's MTIASIC suggests Commercial Lionfish Farming possible for Restaurants and Fast Food Industry”.

We do this mainly by eating them, quite a tasty way to deal with the problem.

Still, Red Lionfish (Pterois volitions) are fish in the sea; had no idea that Goldfish, once introduced to fresh water, could be as destructive to the ecosystem as these Florida imports.

They are comparable in some ways to Feral Cats are to birdlife in any country as noted in my blog article entitled “The Zoological Society of London and their Cat Map - How UWI's Department of Biotechnology, the JSPCA and Telecom Providers can Kick Ass 2 against Feral Cats and Dogs”, even though Goldfish and Koi Carp don’t eat other fish, just their food.

In the case of Feral Cats and Dogs, a Radio Collar Tracking Project could help to locate and determine their population in order to control their growth as suggested in my blog article entitled “Your Wild Life Cat Tracker Project - How the Jamaica Cat and Dog Migration Project would reduce impact on Birds and other Fauna”.

In my estimation, the Feral Dog and Cat population can be as much as six (6) times the population of Jamaica. So Feral Cats and Dogs are a problem with an expensive solution; Can Jamaica afford to do the same as it relates to Goldfish and Koi Carp potential winding up in our Rivers?

Jamaica's Fledgling Ornamental Fish Export Industry - Why Jamaica needs to discourage releasing Goldfish into our rivers

Jamaica already has a vibrant Ornamental Fish Aquaculture Industry, with a potential to tap into International exports in a market valued at some US$400 million according to the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Anthony Hylton as stated in the article “Jamaica could earn big money from ornamental fish exports – Commerce Minister”, published Wednesday, July 30, 2014 | 11:07 PM, The Jamaica Observer.

But Goldfish and Koi Carp in Jamaica?

We can still have a vibrant Ornamental Fish Industry, but based on this published research by Murdoch University’s Freshwater Fish Group and Fish Health Unit in Australia, we might have to start regulating the Ornamental Fish Industry. Not to mention I need to do an article on Jamaica’s burgeoning Ornamental Fish Industry!

Ornamental Fish Growers, in selling their product, need to also advise pet owners that they are not to release them into the wild in Freshwater ponds. Best to let them stay in their little Bowls, as setting them free will create yet another environmental catastrophe that might be a little harder to deal with by eating them.