Net Fishermen Not Welcome in Carrollwood Village

The sight of people dropping lines into Carrollwood Village’s ponds, hoping to pull out fish, isn’t uncommon, but one practice is heavily frowned upon and neighborhood officials say the action could be harmful to pond ecology.

That’s why residents of this community are being asked to keep their eyes open for people breaking the rules by dropping nets into the ponds in hopes of reeling in large catches.

“Net fishing is counterproductive to what we are trying to accomplish to improve the ecology of the ponds and is not something we would encourage nor endorse,” officials wrote on the community’s website.

Carrollwood Village’s ponds have been undergoing a restocking process after “almost unprecedented scale algae blooms” last summer, the website says. The board has “taken measures to try and mitigate this from happening in the future by restocking all the ponds with triploid grass carp. “

The restocking process is “long and arduous” and requires state approval since this type of carp isn’t considered native to Florida.

Grass carp are commonly used in the state to control algae blooms, but they are illegal to possess without a permit, according to John Cimbaro of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“Triploid grass carp are used for aquatic vegetation control and may not be stocked or harvested without a permit,” the state’s website says. “They grow to over 40 pounds.”

While pole fishing for other types of fish is permitted by Carrollwood Village residents, the community’s website says, net fishing is not allowed and could undo the work completed to keep the ponds healthy.

Anyone who spots a person net fishing in one of the community’s ponds is asked to call the security patrol at 813-263-8660. 

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