Reward Offered For Info Behind Illegal Fish Stocking

A nine-inch perch was caught at Alcova near Black Beach recently. The angler from Iowa showed it to a friend, who knew it didn't belong in the reservoir and contacted the Casper Game and Fish offices.

"Really what we're seeing here is yet another case of people moving fish illegally from one place to another and that's why were offering up to $5000 dollars for any information leading to the arrest of the individual."

Robin Kepple from the Casper Field Office says Perch are not part of the management picture at Alcova and she points out that the waters there are  too cold  for the species, meaning they'll grow slowly and have limited value as a sport fish.

Kepple says its illegal to move live fish into any body of water in the state.  Unfortunately, a number of illegal fish introductions have occurred in the Casper region in recent years.

She says new legislation increases fines,  "Back in 2010 a new law went into effect that anyone who illegally stocks fish could face fines up to $10,000  and a year in jail.  So we take this pretty seriously, because when your moving fish around into an area that's not managed for it they can have detrimental impacts on the species that we do manage for."

Penalties could also include the loss of fishing and hunting privileges for life