1,000 goldfish to be removed from Ottawa pond

Hundreds of dead fish were found in a pond in Ottawa’s Celebration Park in March 2025. The city plans to remove more fish from the stormwater pond next week. March 26, 2025,(Maddison De Varennes/CTV News Ottawa)

Approximately 1,000 goldfish will be removed from a stormwater pond in Ottawa’s Central Park neighbourhood next week and euthanized, eight months after thousands of dead koi fish were found in the same pond.

In a post on social media this week, Coun. Riley Brockington said the stormwater pond in Celebration Park is estimated to contain 1,000 goldfish, and they will be removed.

“The origin of the fish remain a mystery,” Brockington said.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, city staff said a new population of goldfish was identified in the pond along Central Park Drive, and plans are underway to remove them.

“Goldfish are an invasive species that can harm native fish populations and disrupt local ecosystems,” Ryan Polkinghorne, program manager of Stormwater Management and Environmental Monitoring, said in a statement.

“Their removal may prevent a similar winter-kill situation discovered in March of this year caused by low oxygen conditions in the pond.”

Polkinghorne said a permit was issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to carry out the work.

“As required under provincial regulations, all invasive fish species captured in the City’s stormwater ponds must be euthanized,” Polkinghorne said.

“This is standard practice to prevent the further spread of invasive species.”

Last March, staff were notified about the presence of more than 1,000 dead fish in the pond near the Central Experimental Farm. Photos showed several dead fish along the shore of the path.

Polkinghorne says it’s unclear how the goldfish ended up in the pond.

“The city reminds residents not to release goldfish, or any other fish, into stormwater ponds or natural waterways as doing so can disrupt local ecosystems,” Polkinghorne said.