Editor:
Over the past two years there have been reports of non-native fish sightings in Colvin Lake in Sargeant Bay Provincial Park. This is very concerning as it can only mean that locals have released fish from their own fish tanks or private ponds into the Colvin Creek/Lake freshwater ecosystem.
The two species so far identified are the Jack Dempsey and pumpkinseeds.
This is not an acceptable action by any account. These small wetland ecosytems cannot withstand any outside interference in the delicate balance between predator and prey.
Of specific concern is the fact that the Colvin Creek system supports spawning coho and chum salmon, and the salmon fry that utilize this small lake for protection during the first months of life could be predated upon by the introduced species.
Significant predation could effectively eliminate future salmon returns to the spawning beds in Colvin Creek.
The Sargeant Bay Society strongly condemns the release of any additional non-native species – fish or otherwise – into the waterways of this or any provincial park or local wetland ecosystem.
Rand Rudland, President,
Sargeant Bay Society
