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Altered ecosystem: Invasive fish destroyed at Diamond Lake, Oregon

17/Sep/2006: Invasive fish that altered the ecosystem of the Diamond Lake, in the state of Oregon, were poisoned to death by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in a move to save the ecosystem of the lake. Tui chub (Gila bicolor) is a fish native to North America and is used by fishermen as a bait to catch fishes like trout (a freshwater fish belonging to the ‘Salmon’ family). The tui chubs were illegally introduced into this lake by some fishermen in 1980’s, who were using them as baits.

The tui chubs multiplied rapidly in the diamond lake, nearly wiping out the trout and devastating the lake’s ecosystem. The tui chubs fed on small insects and zooplanktons in the lake, which were later wiped out from the lake’s food chain, as they were not able to withstand the assault of the tui chubs. Toxic blooms of algae began colonizing the lake in the absence of predators (zooplankton and insects), threatening swimmers and shattering the recreation based economy in the regions around this lake.

It took 13 years for the authorities to destroy the tui chubs, which destroyed the pristine environment of the lake and turned it in to an environmental horror. The state fish biologist Dave Loomis declared the lake fishless; a day after the employees from the department of Fish and Wildlife poisoned the lake with the insecticide ‘Rotenone’. Loomis and others are now planning to reintroduce trout to this lake and keep invasive fishes away. Plans are in place to reintroduce predatory trout as early as next spring to ward off other invaders that might find their way to this lake.

Diamond Lake did not have any fish till the state introduced trout in this lake in 1910.

Kesavan Siva

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