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HEBER CITY — Utah wildlife officials are reminding residents to not introduce new fish species into bodies of water after an angler reported catching a walleye at a popular Wasatch County reservoir last month.
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials said Wednesday they received and verified a Dec. 21 report from an angler fishing at Strawberry Reservoir. The division stocks the reservoir with cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and kokanee salmon, but not walleye, a species that can be found at other Utah reservoirs, including Deer Creek Reservoir, which is also in Wasatch County.
Alan Ward, the division's fisheries biologist, says the agency is concerned about the recent discovery because it "could easily disrupt" efforts to manage those species "through competition and direct predation as a predator fish."
"We conduct extensive surveys and 98% of anglers have provided feedback that they prefer the current trout and salmon that we provide over other species, including walleye. We are worried that the actions of one selfish angler could damage the years it took to build this fishery into something that the majority of the public wants," he said in a statement.
It's unclear when the species was introduced into the reservoir, or if there are more in the water. The fish reported last month remains the only walleye caught, so far.
Trina Hedrick, sportfish coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said biologists will conduct "extensive monitoring" of the reservoir this spring to see if there are any potential spawning locations. She also asks anglers to keep an eye out for the species while on the water over the next few months and report any walleye to the division.
"Spring surveys and assistance from the anglers should help us understand the extent of the problem better," she said.
The agency is using the case as a reminder that it's illegal to move fish from one body of water to another because of the threat it can have on the ecosystem of the impacted river, stream, pond, lake or reservoir. Doing so can result in a class A misdemeanor charge, which is the same for dumping aquarium fish in bodies of water or taking a fish home alive from a body of water.
Illegally dumped fish can prey on or outcompete other fish species, including native or endangered species, or can introduce diseases that impact other fish, state biologists explain. In the most severe cases, biologists turn to rotenone treatments, which aim to kill all of the fish so they can be restocked with native fish species or other desired fish species for the body of water.
Hedrick said these treatments are "very expensive" and take "a very long time" to repair an ecosystem. The agency hopes this doesn't happen at Strawberry Reservoir.
In the meantime, agency officials say anyone who catches walleye in the reservoir should kill the fish and call the division at 800-662-3337 to report it. Anglers are also asked to send a photo of the fish and the GPS coordinates of where it was caught.
