The Big Woods Lake in Chaska, Minnesota, has become overrun with goldfish, impacting heavily on the environment for native fish.

The goldfish have been outnumbering the native fish species and altering the lakebeds and the water clarity.

Local environmental scientists and spokespeople for the county urged residents not to dispose of their fish by releasing them into the wild.

"We want to encourage people, if they have an aquarium pet they can no longer take care of, or they don't want, to find it a new home that can include going to your local veterinarian, finding a pet store and talking to them, contacting a local aquarium society, but essentially trying to rehome it, and not release it into the wild," Carver County communications representative Madeline Seveland said.

Environmental scientists have been tagging the fish with microchips to keep track of the numbers and analyse migration patterns. The team reckons they catch between "400-500" per day, according to environmental scientist Jordan Wein.

Local scientists reportedly removed over 100,000 goldfish from the area last year in a bit to allow the environment and vegetation to recover.

-Video Produced by Matt Kowalski @KowalaMedia

-Written Copy by Buckshot Allen via @RuptlyNews