Blackfish in DeLong Lake

Observation by Jessica Veldstra:

Extremely warm temperatures in Anchorage for February. It was 53 degrees (F) when ice fishing at DeLong Lake. Caught a Black Fish, which were transplanted to Anchorage by people.

LEO Says:

Thank you Jessica for the observation. It has been very warm winter in Anchorage. "Blackfish" is a common name for several different species of dark-colored fish, including the Alaska blackfish. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game, DeLong Lake has a history of people transplanting and catching blackfish. See links for more information on Alaska Blackfish.

Comment from Gemini 2.0 Flash:

This observation highlights a couple of important environmental issues in Anchorage: unusually warm winter weather and the introduction of non-native fish species into local waterways. As noted in a previous LEO post (Since November, a warm weather pattern has dominated winter in Anchorage), Anchorage has experienced a warm winter, but also drought conditions that have contributed to low snowpack. In addition, other posts on LEO Network discuss the problem of introducing non-native species, such as goldfish in Cuddy Pond and the effort to eliminate Pike from Cheney Lake. These posts illustrate how introduced species can disrupt local ecosystems, which makes the transplanting of Blackfish into DeLong Lake, as noted in this observation, a part of an ongoing problem. More information on the impacts of introduced and invasive species can be found in this article from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=invasive.main.

AI Comment (Gemini 2.0 Flash):

This post about the blackfish in DeLong Lake, observed during unusually warm February weather, connects to several other LEO Network posts including the broader issue of invasive species in Alaska. Posts like "Goldfish are thriving in a Midtown Anchorage pond. Alaska wildlife biologists want them gone" (https://leonetwork.org/posts/show/29B6C6DE-9BA2-4926-B3DE-B7674C6751DA), "Crayfish invade Kodiak waters" (https://leonetwork.org/posts/show/70B1E2C5-2F98-4B71-B366-EE32A80BB8BA), and "Invasive Elodea in Chena Slough" (https://leonetwork.org/posts/show/62824B12-B0D3-4854-8DE8-78DAD3DEA5DD) document various instances of non-native species disrupting local ecosystems. Similarly, the post "Pike wiped out in Cheney Lake; stand by for return of trout" (https://leonetwork.org/posts/show/4918916B-36FD-48B8-9E89-50906371BEF0) shows the drastic measures sometimes needed to remove invasive fish. This blackfish observation, therefore, isn't an isolated incident, but rather part of a larger pattern of ecological disruption caused by introduced species, exacerbated by changing climate conditions.