Wildlife officials in Pennsylvania are sounding the alarm after a massive goldfish was discovered in the wild, warning the public that releasing the pets can create an ‘invasive problem that can last decades.’
US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) experts spotted and retrieved what they call a ‘megalodon’ goldfish during a recent electrofishing survey on the waters of Presque Isle State Park waterway, the agency revealed on Facebook Tuesday.
The unexpected discovery served as a stark reminder that a released pet goldfish will go ‘from cute to brute’ as it can quickly turn into an invasive species in local waterways, wreaking havoc on ecosystems for years on end.
‘Goldfish grow massive in the wild, where they can turn lakes and waterways into murky messes, steal food from native fish and wreck water quality,’ the agency wrote.
‘If you can’t keep your fish, re-home it. Just don’t let it loose.’
Agency officials recently headed to Erie County to conduct an electrofishing survey on the waters of Pennsylvania’s only ‘seashore’, using an electrical current to stun fish for easy capture.
The bigger-than-usual fish was discovered during the process, reminding pet owners that the right way to ‘break up with your goldfish’ isn’t setting it free.
In a photo shared to the agency’s Facebook, USFWS employee Corey Ketchum is seen holding the gigantic fish, which appears to be almost too large and puffy for his own hand – far surpassing the size of your average at-home aquatic pet.
US Fish and Wildlife Service experts spotted and retrieved what they call a ‘megalodon’ goldfish
The discovery was made during a recent electrofishing survey in Pennsylvania
A single goldfish can grow up to four pounds and 16 inches long in the wild
A second image showed another employee holding the enormous fish
‘This goldfish isn’t supposed to be here. But someone released it, thinking they were being kind,’ the caption read. ‘Instead, they created an invasive problem that can last decades.’
A second image, also shared by the agency, showed another employee holding the enormous fish with both of his hands as it was longer than his shoulder-width.
While releasing a pet goldfish into the wild may seem like a harmless act of freedom and kindness, a single one can grow up to four pounds and 16 inches long – a sharp difference from those kept inside a tank, as they only grow to be about 1-2 inches long.
According to the agency’s website, there are dozens of reasons why releasing a goldfish into the wild is never the right choice to make.
The tiny, harmless-looking fish from the pet store won’t stay ‘cute’ without a tank limiting their size.
‘Goldfish that once fit in the palm of your hand can balloon into giant, football-sized invaders that compete with native species for food and habitat,’ the website reads.
As bottom feeders, the traditional pet fish make it harder for native aquatic animals and plants to survive in the wild.
‘They can eat anything and everything,’ Christine Boston, an aquatic research biologist, told The New York Times.
The ‘megadolon’ fish was found during an electrofishing survey
The bright-orange swimmer stirs up sediment, uproots plants and makes the water murky
Aside from their unlimited growth and chaotic disruption, goldfish multiply fast once in the wild, as they conceive several times each season
Goldfish shockingly have no natural predators in most bodies of water across North America
More specifically, once in wild waters, the bright-orange swimmer stirs up sediment, uproots plants and makes the water murky. Therefore, the delicate balance that exists within aquatic ecosystems become easily disrupted.
Aside from their unlimited growth and chaotic disruption, goldfish multiply fast once in the wild, as they conceive several times each season.
One would believe that natural selection would take care of the frequent-reproduction problem, but goldfish shockingly have no natural predators in most bodies of water across North America.
Simply put, one released pet can ultimately cause a population explosion within the goldfish community.
Native wildlife are instantly put at-risk from these population explosions as they have no immunity to the parasites and diseases goldfish may carry, leading to a detrimental ripple effect in the underwater ecosystem.
‘Releasing a pet to the wild is never the right thing,’ the website reads.
‘Most pets released to the wild do not survive, and many suffer before they die. If it does survive, your pet could become an invasive species that harms native wildlife,’ the agency added, noting how the problem could persist for decades.
Tuesday’s discovery captured the attention of hundreds on Facebook, as it was shared nearly 4,000 times.
Native wildlife is instantly put at-risk from goldfish population explosions as they have no immunity to the parasites and diseases goldfish may carry, leading to a detrimental ripple effect in the underwater ecosystem
The fascinating yet worrisome discoveries, as invasion ecology professor Dr. Ricciardi puts it, is the outcome of ‘Free Willy Syndrome,’ as people continue to think of goldfish as ‘small and cute’
The recent ‘megalodon’ fish-find in Pennsylvania is not a new issue, as the Great Lakes were plagued with ‘millions’ swimming around in late 2023 – including Lake Erie
Experts have correlated their increase to human error, including pet owners flushing the fish town the toilet or releasing them into nearby lakes and streams when they can’t care for them anymore
While some expressed total shock and fascination in the comments, others aired out their own concerns, specifically about goldfish being used as bait by some fishers.
The agency gave some insight into the practice elsewhere in the comments, urging anglers to never dump their bait after they’re done fishing.
‘It’s legal in 16 states to use goldfish as bait. All the states create their own fishing regulations, so it’s up to each state on what they allow for fish bait,’ the USFWS wrote.
‘We always encourage anglers to never dump their bait after they’re done fishing,’ they added. ‘Bait dumping is one of the many ways invasive aquatic species and pathogens are introduced into waterways.’
The recent ‘megalodon’ fish find in Pennsylvania is not a new issue, as the Great Lakes were plagued with ‘millions’ swimming around in late 2023.
‘There are literally millions of goldfish in the Great Lakes, if not tens of millions,’ Dr. Nicholas Mandrak, a professor of biological sciences, told The New York Times in 2023.
Mike Loughran is just one fisherman who was left in a state of complete shock the first time he witnessed the enormous creature during a trip to Lake Erie.
‘Honestly, I was in shock,’ the avid fisherman told Today in 2023. ‘I almost fell off my kayak.’
Loughran, who goes by ‘fishlikemike’ on social media, told the outlet that he had caught about 10 giant goldfish during his Lake Erie trips.
‘It’s just crazy to see something that, growing up, you go to the fair and you get a little goldfish in a bag,’ he told Today. ‘All of a sudden, you’re seeing one 14, 15 inches long.’
Goldfish, which are a species native to East Asia, were only introduced to North America in the late 1800s. Since then, their feral population has begun to ‘dramatically increase’ over the last two decades.
Experts have correlated their increase to human error, including pet owners flushing the fish town the toilet or releasing them into nearby lakes and streams when they can’t care for them anymore.
Goldfish are just a small part of a vast invasion of non-native species, experts say, whose outcomes can be unpredictable or worsened by climate change
Releasing a goldfish into the wild, while it seems like the kindest option, is never the right choice to make, according to the USFWS
Mike Loughran is just one fisherman who was left in a state of complete shock the first time he witnessed the enormous creature during a trip to Lake Erie, adding that he ‘almost fell off my kayak’
The USFWS recommends that pet owners who find themselves unable to care for their goldfish anymore should re-home it, return it to a pet store or contact a local aquarium or other rescue groups for help, the website states
‘They are just people’s pets that have been washed out or people released into their local lakes and rivers and they keep growing, as long as they have food,’ Dr. Prosanta Chakrabarty, a professor of biological sciences, told Today.
The fascinating yet worrisome discoveries, as invasion ecology professor Dr. Ricciardi puts it, is the outcome of ‘Free Willy Syndrome,’ as people continue to think of goldfish as ‘small and cute,’ the New York Times reported.
Goldfish are just a small part of a vast invasion of non-native species, he said, whose outcomes can be unpredictable or worsened by climate change.
‘Under human influence, beasts are moving faster farther in greater numbers, reaching parts of the planet they could never reach before,’ he said. ‘We’re talking about the redistribution of life on Earth.’
According to National Geographic, the average lifespan for a goldfish in the wild is a whopping 41 years.
The USFWS recommends that pet owners who find themselves unable to care for their goldfish anymore should re-home it, return it to a pet store or contact a local aquarium or other rescue groups for help, the website states.
