Dead, rare Asian swamp eels were found in Hemlock Lake, which is the source of most of the fresh water for the city of Rochester.
City Director of Communications Justin Roj said the state Department of Environmental Conservation has done electrofishing tests on the lake and the results say there are no more eels there, tempering fears that the eels could cause an imbalance in the lake’s ecosystem.
No one knows where the eels came from, but according to Roj, there’s little doubt that they were put there by someone.
“Being careless with our pets or frankly even plant life that we’ve maybe brought home from other parts of the world has potentially an impact on the long-term health of our ecosystem,” said Roj.
Roj said the State Department of Environmental Conservation has tested the lake. The DEC told the city that the lake is healthy.
“It’s a healthy water body, and part of having a healthy water body is having a wide presence of a variety of fish and plant life within Hemlock Lake,” Roj said.
