The Tench is Eurasian species of freshwater (sometimes brackish water) fish in the Carp Family (Cyprinidae) that has been introduced to British Columbia where it is found in Osoyoos, Christina, Skaha, and Okanagan lakes plus a few small lakes in the Okanagan (see below). It is generally found in still water areas with muddy or clay bottoms, and tolerates water with a low oxygen content. This is a night-feeding species (chironimds, snails, pea clams) that breeds in shallow, vegetated water. Spawning occurs in mid-summer.
Carl and Guiget (1958) provide the following information on the arrival of the Tench in BC: "European Tench are present in Christina Lake and in Osoyoos Lake of the Columbia system in southern British Columbia. They were first noted in the former about 1915 (Dymond 1936) and were first collected at Osoyoos in 1941. Undoubtedly tench have gained access to these lakes by way of the outlet streams from Washington to the south, where they are quite widely spread (Chapman, 1942). There appear to be two explanations pertaining to the origin of tench in Washington. According to Dymond (loc. cit.), fish of this species were brought to Seattle for the World's Fair in 1909 and afterwards were dumped into a large goldfish pond on the campus of the university. From this source some were released in Lake Union and possibly into other water systems as well. Chapman (1942), on the other hand, states that the first known introduction of tench into the Northwest was plantings made by the United States Bureau of Fisheries in small lakes of Spokane County, Washington, and Washington County, Oregon, in 1895. Tench are now present in the Columbia River and in certain streams and lakes of the Puget Sound drainage, especially Lake Washington and communicating lakes.
In any case, it seems logical to assume that the tench now found in this province found their way north via the Columbia River system, into which Christina and Osoyoos Lakes drain."
Read a summary of the biology of this species.
