invasive species in fresh water lakes found

[Upstate Scuba OWI]

LAKE Keowee, S.C. -- When an Upstate fisherman got a bite and reeled in his catch, he didnt expect something that could bite back.

http://www.wyff4.com/news/19101727/detail.html#​

The strange fish came up snapping with a very sharp set of teeth.

Joshua Humphrey said, "We looked it up on the Internet and found some pictures of piranhas --found this exact one. It's called a Red Pacu."

The Pacu is a close cousin to the flesh-eating Amazonian terror.

The good news is that Pacus are mostly vegetarian, and have never been known to eat people.

Humphrey said, Ÿhen he came up and snapped one time, he come up, he was biting and stuff."

HumphreyÃÔ mom called a Clemson fishery professor to find out how the fish ended up so far away from Brazil.

The professor said it was probably someoneÃÔ pet that had been released.

"Said they sell them down there at Wal-Mart, and they release them in the water when they get too big for their tank," Humphrey said.

There are questions about how a rain forest fish survived a harsh winter, but local fishermen have a theory. They say that the Oconee nuclear plant on Lake Keowee causes ÅÉot-holes where the fish survive.

Humphrey said, "They said there's a bunch of them getting caught up there, so obviously they are adapting."

The Clemson professor said only a few Pacu have been caught in the Upstate, but if they start to multiply, they could present a problem.

Humphrey said, "These fish are going to eat all the bait fish and around, which in turn, is going to kill all our big fish."

The Clemson professor said that itÃÔ best not to release pet fish, and owners should probably find another way to dispose of them. He said Pacus are considered a staple food in Brazil and make a tasty entrñÆ.

 

[gismonkey]

Two things to make me say "Arrrgh!":

1) Pacu are pretty much vegetarians (as noted in the story), yet they still insisted on running the fisherman's comments about how "they'll eat all the baitfish" in the area. They won't. Unless the local baitfish are made of plants or invertebrates, pacu get along pretty well with small fishes and don't have much reason to eat them. Now, they could have some crazy ecological effects if they start munching seriously on the aquatic vegetation and depleting the basic food source for other critters.

2) Red pacu (or red-bellied pacu, Piaractus brachypomus can grow to 2+ feet (88 cm) or 3 feet (for Colossoma macropomum, hard to say which it was). It boggles the mind that Wal*Mart and lots of other mass-market fish retailers sell these things willy-nilly. They're actually on the prohibited species lists for some areas (e.g. Oregon (PDF)), but no one has money/people for enforcement. What sane, ethical fish retailer would sell a fish that grows that big to anyone (and for just $9.99 for a 1.5" fish with a tiny, 10-point warning that it grows to 18")? Sure, they're tasty, cute, and (mostly) vegetarian, however, how could that possibly be a good idea?

 

[Upstate Scuba OWI]

I've seen them while diving there and they leave diver's alone but it is rare to see them but they are reproducing or someone released more than five of them.