DANBURY — About 50 people attended a public meeting Wednesday night at Western Connecticut State University as the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection presented a plan to place nearly 4,000 sterile grass carp into Candlewood Lake to combat the invasive .
Some area residents raised concerns about the safety of the fish and the possible success of the program.
Phyllis Schaer, chairwoman of the Candlewood Lake Authority, said the proposal is safe for fish and people. She said there would be little, if any, interference with swimmers.
“They’re shy fish,” she said. “They tend to spook when around people.”
Peter Aarrestad, director of the DEEP’s Inland Fisheries Division, said the success of the program will largely depend on the management of the lake.
“When you do it right, it can work,” he said.
Nearly 300 acres of milfoil need to be treated by the carp, translating to about 13 fish per acre. Sixteen possible stocking sites were identified along the 60-mile perimeter of the lake.
The DEEP won’t make a decision on the project until after the public-comment period closes at 4:30 p.m. on May 13. Comments can be emailed to mindy.barnett@ct.gov or mail them to: Inland Fisheries Division, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106.