Introduction
The "strange fish" appeared, and the fish and shrimp were gone.
Recently, the drainage of lake water in Ruzhou, Henan Province to catch "crocodile eels" has aroused widespread concern. Outside Henan, Shandong, Guangxi and even Beijing and other places have appeared in the traces of crocodile eels (poke the link, see the previous report: a small area in Beijing is now more than half a meter long "crocodile"! Noho Station: Invasive species, more ferocious... There were even children who were bitten.
What exactly is the crocodile eel? What are the hazards? And how to manage?
Poke the audio below and listen to the report of Beijing Traffic Radio reporter Suning:
The crocodile eel found in the community / from the WeChat public account of the community
Many owners of the first phase of Baiwang Jasmine Garden in Haidian District still remember the "strange fish in the lake" incident that occurred about a month ago. According to the public account of the community, at the end of July, "a fierce big fish" appeared in the water system of the community, and some neighbors recognized it as a crocodile eel, which was harmful to the water system and had no benefit. The owner, Mr. Zhang, said that a neighbor later salvaged the crocodile eel. Preliminary measurements show that the length of the fish is more than 50 cm.
Mr. Zhang: I said that there was an old man who fished it out, and then I didn't know how to deal with it.
The crocodile eel that appears in the water system of the community / comes from the WeChat public account of the community
The reporter learned from the community property that after the old man caught the fish, the staff of the Haidian District Agricultural and Rural Bureau went to the door to find the owner. So the reporter also asked the Haidian District Agricultural and Rural Bureau about the whereabouts of the fish, and the other party replied that the crocodile eel had been taken from the owner's home and sent to the aquatic wildlife shelter department for proper disposal.
Small animals/reporters in the water system of the community
The reporter saw in the community that the large and small water systems are distributed in the middle of the community from south to north, and several small fish can be seen in the water, and there are several ducks on the shore. Owners told reporters that some people will put small fish or turtles in their homes into the water, but this year there are many fewer fish in the water.
Owner: For example, ducks are raised for children to play with, and when they are older, they are placed here, and they will also put some fish bought outside. I was finding it seems like there were fewer small fish.
Owner: The small fish seem to have disappeared recently, I don't know if they were eaten by ducks or by crocodile eels.
The crocodile eel found in the community / from the WeChat public account of the community
Some owners suspect that this crocodile eel from an unknown source may have been raised at home by someone before it was put into the water system of the community.
Owner: At first I didn't know what kind of fish it was, but then I saw the news that this was quite dangerous, and I think someone must have put it, because if no one in the community put it, it wouldn't be self-sustaining.
Two crocodile eels in the City Central Park of Ruzhou City, Henan Province, were successfully captured/sourced from Xinhua News Agency
Just when the residents of the community gradually forgot about the existence of crocodile eels, the news of drying the lake water in Ruzhou, Henan Province, to catch crocodile eels once again pulled this creature into people's field of vision. CCTV's report mentions:
Report: Come and pay attention to a strange fish, although it has a tail, but its mouth is pointed and long, very crocodile-like, called alligator eel. In the past month, in order to catch two crocodile eels in Ruzhou, Henan Province, it has pumped out more than 200,000 cubic meters of lake water to fish for it.
Before and after this, Hunan, Guangxi, Shandong and many places also reported the discovery of crocodile eels, mostly distributed in communities, parks and other places. There are properties pumping water for fishing, there are ponds where other fish and shrimp have disappeared due to its appearance, and a little boy in Jiangsu is bitten by crocodile eels when he is playing in the water by the landscape pool of the community... What species is the alligator eel? According to the teacher of science popularization workers, it is actually an alien species native to North America, and the crocodile eel that grows in the wild can grow up to about 3 meters.
Cockroaches: It is actually a very old species, and the gar family existed during the dinosaur period. Crocodile eels were introduced to China as ornamental fish, and what we can see in the water now is basically due to release, or I don't want to raise it, I will release it too big, and there are also religious factors that are released. There is basically no commercial in China to raise this thing for eating, because its ovaries and eggs are poisonous.
What are the hazards of this species?
Why does it decrease as soon as it appears in other animals in the native water system?
Teacher Qiao Er said:
Cockroaches: This is a very ferocious predatory fish that eats all the other native fish in the water. For example, biting a child and biting a person may be playing at the water's edge, and then you are playing with the water with your hand, it may think it is a food, it comes up and takes a bite, not really eating people, but because it is a predatory fish, the teeth are very sharp, and a bite will still cause some harm.
Alligator eels sold on the online platform / source Screenshot of the website
The reporter searched on the Internet and found that many websites can also search for the sale information of crocodile eels, some of which are marked with the words "Lucky Crocodile" and "Sharp-billed Crocodile", but in fact, they are all crocodile eels. Prices range from tens to hundreds, and the sales homepage is marked with the words "No release". The reporter asked several aquariums in Beijing, and the staff said that there are indeed sales in the store, and it seems that with its popularity rising recently, there are still many people who come to buy it.
Staff: It belongs to an exotic species, but it is generally domestically bred, and this fish can be fired in these two days, and this fish is bought. It is very lively, generally it belongs to the invincible existence, there is no opponent, or not to say that it is not released.
Reporter: For example, will other fish in the fish tank be eaten?
Staff: The big fish are fine, the small fish are all eaten.
Relevant provisions of the Biosafety Law of the People's Republic of China / Source Screenshot of the website
Why is such a fierce fish still bought and sold in the market? Someone to keep?
Yang Bo, a partner at Beijing Weinuo Law Firm, analyzed that at present, there is no explicit prohibition on the breeding and trading of alligator eels that are legally introduced, including local breeding.
Yang Bo: According to the relevant provisions of the Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China, no unit or individual may introduce, release or alien species without approval, and if it is illegal to introduce crocodile eels, it will be confiscated and punished by the relevant administrative departments.
As for whether the legal introduction of alligator eels can be bought and sold, there is currently a legislative gap, and there is no direct law to constrain it, which does not mean that it can be bought and sold arbitrarily. Even when selling crocodile eels, merchants should also inform consumers that they cannot be released or discarded without authorization, and buyers should also fulfill reasonable breeding obligations, based on the principle of "law does not prohibit that is, freedom", although individual breeding of crocodile eels is not illegal, but does not advocate the breeding of such a fierce alien species.
Yang Bo clearly pointed out that the act of arbitrarily releasing crocodile eels is explicitly prohibited by law, and those with serious illegal circumstances may also violate the criminal law.
Yang Bo: Because this crocodile eel is an alien species, according to the relevant provisions of the Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China and the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, no unit or individual may release or discard the alien species without approval, otherwise it will bear the corresponding legal responsibility, and will be ordered to catch, retrieve or discard the released or discarded alien species within a time limit, and be fined between 10,000 and 50,000 yuan. At the same time, the Amendment (11) to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China also stipulates that the illegal introduction and release or discarding of invasive alien species shall be punished by fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined or fined, and if the subsequent crocodile eel is included in the list of invasive alien species, it may be suspected of criminal offenses if it is released at will.
Relevant provisions of the Measures for the Administration of Invasive Alien Species / Source Screenshot of the website
The Measures for the Administration of Invasive Alien Species, which came into effect on August 1 this year, clearly stipulate that invasive alien species refer to alien species that have been introduced into colonization and pose a threat or harm to ecosystems, habitats and species, affect the ecological environment of the mainland, and damage the sustainable development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries and biodiversity.
It is understood that the List of Invasive Alien Species in China (hereinafter referred to as the "List") was released in four batches in 2003, 2010, 2014 and 2016, and crocodile eels have not yet been included. However, the "Work Plan for Further Strengthening the Prevention and Control of Alien Species Invasion" issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other five departments last year has included crocodile eels in the comprehensive management of "aquatic invasive alien species". This year, the agricultural and rural departments in many places have begun to carry out a census of invasive alien species, including crocodile eels, and in the view of Ma Jun, director of the Beijing Public environment research center, alligator eels already have the characteristics of invasive alien species and are expected to be included in the "List".
Ma Jun: Now the latest research is being carried out, including crocodile meals, Fushou snails, and Brazilian turtles. They are also often raised when they are farmed, but in fact they are all invasive species. Introduction is easy, but once it is propagated in the wild, it is difficult to control, the losses caused are huge, and some ecological impacts are difficult to recover.
In addition to the crocodile eel, there are also some "popular" invasive alien species on the market, such as Fushou snail and Brazilian turtle, which are extremely destructive to the local ecological environment, and being released at will will bring bad consequences. Ma Jun also suggested that on the basis of dynamically updating the List, it is also necessary to do more scientific management of such species.
Ma Jun: It is necessary to strengthen the relevant management, just from the release side of the management is quite terminal, their release behavior is actually very difficult to control, so it must be controlled from a more source, it is for this reason that the "Management Measures for Invasive Alien Species" was introduced. It emphasizes the need to strengthen the management of the whole chain of invasive alien species, first of all to prevent risks, then to control the source, followed by comprehensive coordination and public awareness of the popularization and management.
The Measures for the Management of Invasive Alien Species make it clear that the management of invasive alien species is an important measure to maintain national biosecurity, and the principles of risk prevention, source control, comprehensive management, coordination and cooperation, and public participation shall be adhered to. In the face of the still relatively random buying and selling behavior in the market and the curious purchase behavior of some citizens, Ma Jun further emphasized that the balance of the ecological environment requires the joint participation of every member of the public, please understand the characteristics of the species in advance and judge whether it has the ability to breed. We must not covet a moment of freshness and cause irreparable losses to the ecological environment.
Ma Jun: Ultimately we have to form a whole set of mechanisms to manage it, but public participation is still important. To popularize the knowledge of related biological invasions, many people do not have this concept, and they are proud to raise and watch strange species, but in fact, they are all invasive alien species, and they must be extra cautious, once released, some of them may bring serious damage to the ecological environment, so we must be extra cautious.
Blind release is equivalent to returning the tiger to the mountain
So-called acts of kindness
May endanger the ecological balance!
Resolutely resist illegal releases
Forward the reminder
Content source: Beijing Traffic Radio Reporter: Su Ning, Editor: Zhang Sainan, Editor-in-Chief: Zhu Lingxiang
Editor: Hui'er
Duty Editor-in-Chief: Peng Fei
Blind release is equivalent to returning the tiger to the mountain