The best way to deal with this invasive alien species is to try not to buy it for farming. After all, there is no harm in not buying and selling.
Wen | Tan Liping, a reporter for China Entrepreneur
Edited | Mina
The source of the head image | Visual China
A "strange fish" that is occupying social circles.
Recently, a park in Pingdingshan, Henan Province, drained the lake water to round up "strange fish" has attracted attention - because of two exotic species of crocodile eels, Henan Ruzhou City Central Park pumped nearly a month of lake water, and finally caught it on August 27. In addition, Beijing, Hunan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Shandong and other places have also been reported to have found crocodile eels.
For a time, netizens from all over the world denounced the crocodile eel. It is understood that the alligator eel is native to North America, is a freshwater giant carnivorous fish, which is characterized by hard fish scales, and fish eggs, internal organs are poisonous, very toxic, large amount of food, almost everything to eat. Since there are no "natural enemies", once placed in natural waters, it will bring damage to the local aquatic ecosystem.
"China Entrepreneur" noted that at present, the direct search for "crocodile eel" on e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and Jingdong has shown no related products. However, by changing some of these words and searching for words such as "alligator fanfish" or "lucky crocodile", it is very easy to retrieve the relevant shop. The price of crocodile eels with a length of about 43 cm reached 438 yuan, and some stores specially marked "hot selling" on the picture display page of the products sold.
Source: APP screenshot
When "China Entrepreneur" inquired as a consumer on the e-commerce platform, the merchant said that the crocodile eel is easy to raise, generally feeding small fish and shrimp, and the merchant feeds the feed. The gar can grow up to about 80 cm long. When asked about the source of the fry, the merchant said it was an "imported breeding" breeding. The reporter noted that many merchants in the commodity display area have indicated, "ornamental use, prohibited release."
At the same time, on the e-commerce platform, there are also some exotic species that have become "alternative pets" for young people. Mosquito-eating fish, Brazilian tortoises, Brazilian Solomon spiders, European savage harvest ants, Asian rainforest scorpions, Malagasy vocal cockroaches... Many exotic species are being sold on some e-commerce platforms, including some invasive species that will damage the local ecological environment.
"Alien species are actually more common, including our common perch, tilapia and cats, and we believe that as long as they are legal and non-protected animals, they are allowed to be sold." Zhou Zhuocheng, deputy director of the China Fisheries Association's Special Committee on Native Aquatic Organisms and Water Ecology, told China Entrepreneur, "But we believe it is necessary to establish a new list of more destructive species that may cause invasion." At the same time, a more serious control measure should be implemented for the sale and rearing of these species. ”
Surprisingly, the alligator eel is not yet included in the list of invasive alien species. However, at the beginning of 2021, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Work Plan for Further Strengthening the Prevention and Control of Alien Species, which clearly mentions "strengthening the supervision of aquatic alien species breeding and promoting the comprehensive management of aquatic invasive alien species such as water hyacinth, Fushou snail, crocodile eel".
9.52 yuan "strange fish" free shipping home
Although it has become famous in recent fishing operations in several provinces and cities, the alligator eel is not the first time it has attracted attention.
Over the past few years, crocodile eels have been recorded in many provinces in the wild. According to reports, in 2003, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, traces of crocodile eels were found. According to the Taizhou Evening News, at that time, the mainland had not heard of the introduction of this fish from legitimate channels, but it was not ruled out that some people had privately introduced and raised it, and the gar was likely to be released from the pets raised by the family.
At present, the more common theory in China is that the alligator eel was originally introduced from the Americas as an ornamental fish. Nowadays, many netizens can also see posts on social networks showing domestic crocodile gar.
According to the data, the alligator eel is a genus of finches, finches, and large eels, and is the largest of the 7 species of finches in existence, up to 3 meters long, and feeds mainly on other fish. However, due to the large number of crocodile eels being artificially farmed, it is difficult to bear their breeding costs due to domestic maintenance, and they often face the phenomenon of being released or discarded.
In Zhou Zhuocheng's view, the problem with the alligator eel is mainly that it belongs to a predatory invasive species without natural enemies, which may have a destructive impact on aquatic organisms in local areas. Although the attention of the outside world lies in the problems of strong destructive power and poisonous fish eggs, the most critical problem is that it cannot be released at will.
Due to the long time in China, at present, the market can easily buy crocodile eels. For example, on an e-commerce platform, a juvenile fish of about 8 centimeters can be bought at a price as low as 9.52 yuan.
On the second-hand trading platform, there are also some large crocodile eels that have been resold due to insufficient breeding conditions. Someone hung up a price of 150 yuan, ready to sell the crocodile eel with a body length of 40 centimeters, saying that "the state is very good, the fur is beautiful, it is too powerful to raise other fish." Some people also sold a 55-centimeter crocodile eel for 230 yuan, saying that "the long speed is too fast and too fierce to be wanted."
Source: APP screenshot
Gu Dangen, a scientist at the national bulk freshwater fish industry technology system for the prevention and control of alien species invasion, said in an interview with the media, "Crocodile eels originally belong to ornamental fish, and ordinary citizens even if they are raised is one or two, because crocodile eels grow very fast, ordinary aquariums cannot be raised, and ordinary families cannot make a aquarium of tens of meters to raise." From the perspective of the consumer group of crocodile eels, it is mainly the people in the city who are raising them, and the crocodile eels recently discovered are also in the city, mainly concentrated in parks, lakes, urban rivers and other places. ”
Once the alligator eel flows into natural waters, it often faces the problem of difficult to catch.
For example, on July 13 this year, Henan Ruzhou City Central Park found crocodile eels in the waters of Yunchan Lake, and then began to use pumps and other facilities to drain the lake water of Yunchan Lake on July 26, the entire Yunchan Lake has 200,000 to 300,000 cubic meters of lake water, after a month, until August 27, Ruzhou City Park Management said in an interview with the media that "strange fish" has been caught, a total of two, confirmed as alien species of crocodile eels, the park management has been harmless treatment of it.
Zhou Zhuocheng believes that draining the whole pond water may not be the optimal solution, and it is also possible to use Luya fishing (bionic bait fishing or quasi-bait fishing) or net fishing. "We recognize the removal, but the core problem before the removal of alligator eels is that they cannot be released at will. According to the latest relevant regulations and regulations, the release and release of life at will is definitely illegal, and how to punish it is the most critical. Zhou Zhuocheng said.
From August 1, 2022, the Measures for the Management of Invasive Alien Species jointly issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the General Administration of Customs have been officially implemented. It clearly stipulates that no unit or individual may introduce, release or discard alien species without approval. Whoever introduces, releases or discards an alien species without approval will be punished in accordance with article 81 of the Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 81 of the Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China clearly stipulates that where alien species are released or discarded without authorization, the relevant departments of people's governments at the county level or above shall, in accordance with the division of duties, order the recovery or retrieval of released or discarded alien species within a time limit, and impose a fine of between 10,000 and 50,000 yuan.
However, the management measures do not clearly stipulate whether individual farming of crocodile eels is illegal.
In addition to this, if there is a shortage of food, there is a possibility that the alligator eel can harm humans. In the past month, in addition to Ruzhou in Henan, Beijing, Shandong Qingdao, Ningxia Yinchuan, Yunnan Kunming and other places reported the discovery of crocodile eels, and many news appeared on Weibo hot searches.
Be wary of alien species "new favorites"
In addition to the alligator eel, in recent years, exotic species have become the "new favorite" of many young people.
For example, on the e-commerce platform, a 7 to 8 cm Brazilian Solomon spider costs 110 yuan, and the same size female spider is 158 yuan; Madagascar vocal cockroaches, a pair of male and female adult adult cockroaches priced at 68 yuan; A pair of Asian rainforest scorpions containing micro-poisons that are about 18 centimeters long are priced at 145 yuan.
Source: APP screenshot
When asked if it meets the requirements, the merchant replies that "the shelves are all in line with the requirements." However, according to previous media reports, for example, Madagascar sound cockroaches breeding or breeding in Florida, the United States and other places need to get the corresponding permission, but in the domestic e-commerce platform can be directly sold on the shelves.
In addition, species such as mosquito-eating fish and Brazilian turtles, which have been included in the mainland's list of "invasive alien species", can also be easily purchased on e-commerce platforms.
According to the 2019 Bulletin on the State of China's Ecology and Environment issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, more than 660 invasive alien species have been found across the country. Among them, 71 species that have posed a threat to natural ecosystems or have potential threats have been included in the List of Invasive Alien Species in China.
However, there are also high-risk alien species such as the alligator eel that are not on the list.
The harm of invasive alien species deserves attention. Public information shows that the mainland is one of the countries most endangered by the invasion of alien species. Taking the invasion of forest harmful organisms as an example, the average annual area of the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period was 170 million mu, resulting in direct economic losses and ecological service value losses of 110 billion yuan, of which the most serious harm to pine wood nematodes, American white moths, etc. caused by the average annual loss of forestry was as high as 11 billion yuan.
Zhao Sifeng, director of the Department of Plant Protection of the College of Agriculture of Shihezi University in Xinjiang, previously believed in an interview with the media that the human factors of weak consciousness and blind introduction of seeds are one of the main causes of the invasion of foreign pests.
For example, the most typical example is the water hyacinth (hyacinth). In the 1950s and 1960s, water hyacinth was introduced to China as pig feed, and due to the rapid reproduction, water hyacinth flooded and encroached on the living space of other species. Zhang Guoliang, a doctor at the Institute of Agricultural Environment and Sustainable Development of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, once told the media that the artificial salvage of water hyacinth alone costs 100 million yuan per year, and the cost of chemical prevention also reaches tens of millions of yuan.
In today's Internet era, direct mail and express delivery have also become new channels for the spread of alien species. Not long ago, the customs of Shanghai Pudong International Airport seized 300 live ants in a batch of inbound express mail. The ticket express declaration product is called "Lego Toy", after the on-site customs officer opened the box inspection, found that the actual goods are a batch of EP (epoxy resin) tubes, the tube has wet cotton, the nozzle of the tube has left ventilation holes, and each tube is equipped with 1 live ant, a total of 300. The ants were identified as savage harvest ants in southern Europe. According to the data, the savage harvest ant has the habit of eating and collecting plant seeds, actively predation, and strong reproductive ability, which may endanger the local ecological environment and crop production once escaped.
According to the "Directory of Animals and Plants and Their Products and Other Quarantine Items Prohibited from Being Carried or Sent into The Territory of the People's Republic of China", except for pet dogs and cats that meet the requirements, live animals are prohibited from being carried or sent into China.
In this regard, Zhou Zhuocheng believes that for ordinary people, the best way to deal with this invasive alien species is to try not to buy it for breeding. After all, there is no harm in not buying and selling.
Resources:
"Nearly 600 species of foreign pests in China, some of which have become pets," China News Network
"Experts: Crocodile eels should be included in the national list of invasive species under key management", Beijing News