Officials with Alberta parks and environment sampled, or went fishing in the pond where the catfish was discovered and caught thirty catfish, from three generations — or catfish that have lived in the lake for about three years. The government closed the Texaco East pond on June 26 and since then have been scouring nearby ponds and lakes to determine if the catfish are also living in other areas. Once their hunt for the catfish is complete their next job will be to eradicate or kill the fish Catfish are the latest invasive species to surface in Alberta waters, after goldfish growing to the size of dinner plates and Prussian carp made headlines earlier this month. The province recently launched the "Don't Let It Loose" campaign to educate the public on the damage caused by activities such as illegal stocking, aquarium/ live fish releases and ceremonial and cultural releases. Penalties for illegally transferring fish into any water body aside from the one it was caught in can be up to $100,000 and/or a year in prison.