The Town of Okotoks is looking into how they can avoid future goldfish population issues.

The storm ponds in Drake Landing and Crystal Ridge became over populated with the invasive species as result of residents illegally dumping the fish in the ponds which pose a threat to the Sheep River ecosystem.

Bill Robertson, Mayor of Okotoks, says people need to be more conscious of their actions when they decide they no longer want their fish.

"When they grow tired of it, for whatever reason, they would rather not dispose of it in an inhumane manor so they think that putting it into one of the large ponds would be the best thing to do, thinking of course it could live in harmony with nature and so on, not realizing the detriment it has to the native species if it gets into the river system."

Robertson says the Town is looking into possible prevention measures.

"Administration is going to look into this issue and just see if perhaps the pet stores would take them back or if there's some sort of a means where we could advertise on a Facebook page or something like that for goldfish, just give people an avenue to deal humanely with those fish rather than putting them into our ponds."

The second treatment for the Drake Landing storm pond and the first for Crystal Ridge are scheduled for Sept. 22/23.

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