Grass carp will once again be released into Candlewood Lake in an effort to prevent the spread of invasive Eurasian watermilfoil. The fish will also be released into Squantz Pond for the first time.
Milfoil can get tangled in boat motors and entangle swimmers.
Candlewood Lake Authority Executive Director Larry Marsicano says more carp than planned will be released because the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was working with outdated statistics. The projection about the spread of milfoil initially used by DEEP was based on an average of several years, but Marsicano says it fell short of actual acreage by one-third. About 500 acres of milfoil have been mapped in Candlewood. Some 39 acres were spotted in Squantz Pond.
Instead of 3,000 sterile grass carp, 4,450 will be released into Candlewood. Squantz Pond will be stocked with 585 fish instead of 421.
The fish will be released into Squantz at one spot in New Fairfield and one in Sherman this summer. They will be stocked at the same locations they've been used in Candlewood for the past two years.
