ARIZONA, USA — Arizona canals are getting a refresh. A fishy one.
Salt River Project crews recently stocked the canals with roughly 10,000 white amur fish, trucked in Wednesday morning from a farm in Arkansas. But these fish aren't for catching.
Rather they've been introduced to our waterways to help keep the 131-mile canal system clean and operating. Given that nearly 2.5 million Valley residents depend on those canals, those little fish have an important job.
White amur fish, which were introduced to the canals in 1989, eat the weeds and algae that build up in the canals. They can eat up to three-quarters of their body weight every day, according to SRP.
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Without the fish, those weeds and algae would clog up the canals and slow the flow of water. According to the company, other methods like scraping out the canal beds or using herbicides proved too costly.
But the fish are a cheaper, easier alternative. The project started with a delivery of about 1,800 fish in 1989. Now, it's estimated that about 44,000 white amur fish are living in the canals.
White amur fish are a protected species according to Arizona Game and Fish Department regulations, so you can't remove them from the canals. You can report illegal poaching to the department at (800) 352-0700.
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