Source: CCTV news client
As soon as the "strange fish" appeared, the fish and shrimp were gone. Recently, the news about the emergence of "strange fish" in Henan has attracted much attention. More than a month ago, a citizen photographed a large fish with a peculiar pattern in Yunchan Lake in the central park of Ruzhou City, Henan Province, the crocodile eel. Recently, crocodile eels have also appeared in the viewing pond of a small area in Kunming, Yunnan, and with its appearance, other fish and shrimp in the pond have disappeared. Where did the alligator gar come from? Why is it that as soon as it appears, other fish and shrimp are gone? Is this fish aggressive to humans? Let's take a look.
What kind of fish is the alligator eel? Where did it come from?
Crocodile eel, in fact, not only appeared in Henan and Yunnan, in the past few years, crocodile eel appeared in many waters, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Jiangsu and other provinces, there are all crocodile eel wild distribution records. As soon as the crocodile eel appears, the other fish and shrimp are gone, so what kind of fish is the crocodile eel? And where did it come from?
The creature's mouth is "pointed", and its mouth is densely packed with sharp teeth and its whole body is covered with scales. Native to North America, the alligator eel is a freshwater giant carnivorous fish that generally grows up to 1.5 meters in length. For the mainland, it is an exotic species, and once placed in natural waters, it will bring disaster to the water ecosystem, because it is a non-picky eater, as long as there are living things in the water, it is almost all-consuming.
Why do alligator eels native to North America appear in many parts of the continent?
Why crocodile eels native to North America will be found in many parts of the mainland, let's listen to the introduction of experts who have been involved in the capture of crocodile eels in Guangdong for many times.
Mou Xidong, researcher of the Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences: At present, there are discoveries in Guangzhou, Foshan, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Shanwei and other places in Guangdong Province. In particular, the 2019 Guangzhou Baiyun Lake crocodile eel incident has attracted widespread attention. First, Guangdong Province is an area where the mainland ornamental fish trade is developed, and the alligator eel has been introduced as an ornamental fish and has also been locally reproduced after introduction. Second, The culture of ornamental fish in Guangdong is prevalent, and the gar is also known as the "Fu Crocodile". Third, The subtropical climate of Guangdong, coupled with the fact that crocodile eels have no natural enemies, is suitable for their local survival.
The reporter saw on a shopping platform that many sellers are selling crocodile eels, and some also typed the words "exotic species, prohibited from being released" on the picture. In fact, since its release in 2003, the List of Invasive Alien Species in China has been released in four batches, with a total of 71 species, and the crocodile eel has not yet been included in the list. In January last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other five departments jointly issued the "Work Plan for Further Strengthening the Prevention and Control of Alien Species Invasion", which mentioned that it is necessary to strengthen the supervision of the breeding of aquatic alien species and promote the comprehensive management of aquatic invasive alien species such as water hyacinth, Fushou snail and crocodile eel.
Mou Xidong, researcher of the Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences: The Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China was officially implemented on April 15, 2021. It stipulates the content of "preventing the invasion of alien species and protecting biodiversity", and requires the development of a list of invasive alien species and management measures. To this end, this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other relevant departments formulated the "Notice on Printing and Distributing the Overall Plan for the Census of Invasive Alien Species" to conduct a national census of 10 major alien aquatic organisms, including crocodile eels.
Can alligator eels be released or discarded at will?
At present, there are shops on the shopping website selling live crocodile eels, some people have bought crocodile eels freshly for a while, but once the freshness has passed, or the home tank is small and cannot be put down, they choose to release or discard.
It is understood that although the crocodile eels farmed in the family fish tank cannot grow to the length of the wild environment, it is still no problem to break through 1 meter. And its food intake and growth rate are higher than other gary partners. If you really can't afford it or don't want to keep it, can the alligator eel be released or discarded at will? What about the right way?
Ren Dapeng, professor at China Agricultural University and director of the Agricultural and Rural Legal Research Center: Alien species are not all invasive species, and whether they are invasive species requires long-term scientific assessment. However, as long as it is an alien species, there are relevant strict management regulations. For example, the third paragraph of article 60 of the Biosecurity Law clearly stipulates that no unit or individual may introduce, release or discard alien species without approval. Therefore, if you really can't afford to raise it or don't want to raise it, you need to send it to the relevant departments, and you are never allowed to release or discard it in the wild.
It is also important to remind you that the intestines and eggs of the alligator gar are highly poisonous, and as a large and ferocious fish, the alligator gar also attacks humans when frightened.
People once gave the crocodile eel a nice name "Fu Crocodile", but when it is discarded or released at will, resulting in the destruction of the ecosystem, the "Fu Crocodile" has become a "disaster" and the bad people. In short, responding to species invasions and protecting biodiversity also requires the joint efforts of everyone.