“They’ll clean up the food supply that the trout and the kokanee rely on,” he said on Thursday.

Goldfish are native to eastern Asia and continue to proliferate in B.C.’s lakes and rivers.

In June, officials closed Lost Lake near Terrace, B.C., to recreational fishers due to a goldfish infestation.

Gail Wallin, the executive director with the Invasive Species Council of BC, said the non-native species poses ecological trouble.

“When you introduce a voracious feeder like the goldfish, which will grow to a kilogram in size, that will outcompete many of the native fish that are in there,” she told Global News.

Goldfish have also been shown to prey on native fish species and can disturb sediment while feeding, which increases water turbidity.