New Jersey Town Cancels Goldfish Dump

July 2003

Members of the public pool in Totowa, New Jersey, contacted us when they received advertisements for a Labor Day event at which hundreds, if not thousands, of goldfish were to be dumped into the town pool. The Totowa Bureau of Recreation planned to allow the children to jump in and attempt to capture the fish. The children would then have been allowed to take home any fish they were able to catch. We immediately contacted the local Health Department to determine if this event would violate local health codes, only to be told, “I doubt it’s a violation. They do this kind of thing everywhere.” We sent a fax to the Health Department reminding the agency that children could contract “fish tank granuloma,” among other diseases, from swimming with goldfish. As a result, the Health Department immediately required that the event be called off.