Fish that were thought to be eliminated from Port Sulphur waterways in Louisiana have unexpectedly returned, reported The Times-Picayune.
What’s happening?
Tilapia, a fish often found on dinner plates, has reappeared in Port Sulphur canals after wildlife officials thought they had gotten rid of them in 2009.
A New Orleans scientist caught several young tilapia while doing research, finding them up to six miles from his starting point.
These fish first got into local waters about two decades ago from a fishing pond owned by Freeport-McMoRan, a mining company, probably during flooding from Hurricane Katrina. After wildlife teams spotted them in local canals, they spent over $1 million on a cleanup using a chemical called rotenone that wiped out all fish in the area, including local ones…