Kimmel says she has heard of people dining on, and enjoying, carp but adds it is a boney fish.Īnglers in Alberta are encouraged to kill all carp they catch. Seeing as how we’re in the winter months, there’s probably going to be less traffic around the lake.' 'The plan is that we will put some signage in place, of course,' said Ken Kowalchuk, a spokesperson for the Town of Innisfail. 'We have a few months to work on that. The town is deferring the process to the province, but insists signs will be installed next year to remind residents that the species is in the lake. 'Prussian carp are really highly adaptable,' explained Kimmel. 'They can eat and accommodate some pretty unfavourable water conditions.Ĭarp typically reproduce quickly, spawning an average of three times per year. Kimmel says the carp have been found in many central and southern Alberta waterways over the last two decades and the introduction of a single fish can potentially interrupt an entire ecosystem.

'Even if we were able to remove it from Dodd’s Lake, there’s a good chance that it would probably be reintroduced,' said Kimmel. The province says it currently has no plans to remove the fish. It's still unclear how the species ended up in the nine-foot deep lake, but officials believe high water events may have led to a spillover.

'Suspect it came into Alberta as a goldfish that was misidentified and potentially dumped.'

'It can actually use the sperm of other fish to clone itself,' said Nicole Kimmel, an invasive species specialist with Alberta Environment and Parks. An invasive species of fish is currently overwhelming a pond in a central Alberta town and, according to the province, there's little that can be done to permanently remove the intruders.ĭodd’s Lake in Innisfail has experienced a recent influx of Prussian carp and experts have their suspicions for what prompted the arrival of the highly adaptable fish.

Prussian carp fishing planet