Giant goldfish turn up in Minnesota waterways, prompting pleas to citizens not to dump their pets

Officials in Minnesota are begging residents not to illegally dump their unwanted pet fish as more and more giant goldfish are caught in Minnesota waterways.

Earlier this month, Minnesota officials said they found 10 of the fish in Keller Lake, a lake east of Minneapolis in the Twin Cities suburb of Burnsville. On Monday, officials found an additional 18 fish in waterways, with some being 18 inches in length and weighing approximately four pounds, according to the Associated Press.

"Please don't release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes!" Minnesota officials tweeted Monday. "They grow bigger than you think and contribute to poor water quality by mucking up the bottom sediments and uprooting plants."

Burnsville is currently working with Carp Solutions, a company that deals with controlling carp populations. Carp is a larger cousin of the goldfish.

The company uses boat electrofishing to electrify the water, stun, and then capture the fish to be measured and killed.