ROSEBURG, Ore. — Biologists found a tui chub at Diamond Lake in southern Oregon, nine years after an expensive project to eliminate the invasive minnow.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says the chub was found in a trap net during fisheries monitoring in mid-October. The fish was more than 7 inches long and is believed to be 6 years old.
Biologists believe tui chub were used illegally as live bait or were intentionally reintroduced into the lake. ODFW fish biologist Greg Huchko says it’s “extremely frustrating” to find a tui chub after all the time and effort put into the lake’s restoration.
In 2006, ODFW killed an estimated 90 million tui chub, improved water quality and restored a recreational rainbow trout fishery at Diamond Lake. The project cost nearly $6 million.
