Recently, the term "alligator eel" has frequently appeared in the public eye. Friends who have read the news reports should know that this fish is a "strange fish" reflected by someone in the central park of Ruzhou City, Henan Province, and it is suspected that someone has "released" the fish in the lake. Because of the aggressiveness and the possibility of destroying the ecological balance, in order to catch this crocodile eel, the park almost drained the lake, and finally caught this strange fish, and since then, many provinces have also exploded this strange fish. In Quanzhou City, there is an aquarium exhibition that actually appears in its figure.
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In the hall on the first floor of Nanyi Square in the downtown area, many citizens are visiting various fish in front of the aquarium exhibition, and the most eye-catching thing is the crocodile eel that has recently caused a hot discussion on the Internet. Although it has a fish tail, its mouth is pointed and long, much like a crocodile. The alligator eel is now labeled by many people as "fierce", "ecological destruction", etc., and most visitors have difficulty in feeling good about it.
Citizen Mr. Qiu
"Now (the news) reports that other fish can be eaten, and there must be damage to the ecological environment, and this fish looks big, will it bite people."
Crocodile eel is an exotic species, the largest of the 7 species of gar eel in North America, up to 3 meters long, is a large and fierce fish, green, adhere to aquatic weeds or gravel, fish internal organs and fish eggs are highly toxic. So how can you buy this fish as an ornamental fish?
Aquarium exhibition staff Mr. Zhou
"This fish is not very easy to buy, we have a special platform to provide, there are farms, there are relationships to buy." (Citizens) can buy but not. Farms can buy more efficiently and faster, or they can be bought online. ”
According to the staff, many domestic farms and aquarium shops sell crocodile eels. Because the alligator eel is a more active fish, it is more suitable for viewing at the aquarium exhibition. These days the exhibition is coming to an end, these fish can be sold to the outside world, and many citizens have come to ask about the price.
Aquarium exhibition staff Mr. Zhou
"It's ornamental fish, usually feed the goldfish or something." The small fish are basically one by one, and this fish has no natural enemies in the river, and its size is still small, and it can grow to two or three meters. Now because a fish has been drained of a river, a lot of manpower and material resources are wasted, and now it is certainly not possible to release ah, we can raise it here as a spectator, we can buy it and go home to raise it at home. ”
For the crocodile eel can be purchased at will, some citizens expressed concern about whether it will cause a bad impact if there is a lack of supervision.
Citizen Mr. Wang
"(Buying and selling) is definitely not advocated, after all (if released) will have a certain impact on the public (ecology), will eat fish from other places, you yourself are no problem in stocking, don't raise half of them and abandon it, don't raise it or how to deal with it, instead of throwing it outside."
Citizen Mr. Qiu
"I think (buying) this fish should be regulated, otherwise it must be certified or whatever, this fish can only be raised as an ornamental fish, its advantages and disadvantages are popularized."
The e-commerce platform can buy crocodile eels covertly
In the past month, crocodile eels have also appeared in Beijing, Shandong, Ningxia, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and other places, and the relevant local departments have also carried out harmless treatment of crocodile eels after fishing. However, many e-commerce platforms are still secretly trading crocodile eels.
The reporter found on Taobao and Idle Fish that the result of entering "crocodile eel" directly in the search bar is empty, but entering a similar word sound or word, you can find out that there are merchants selling live crocodile eels, and the price is mostly a few hundred yuan. According to the page data, some stores have monthly sales of more than 2,000 orders. Merchants will mark the sales page with the words "for viewing only, no release, release must be chased" and so on. At present, there is no clear legal provision in China that prohibits the sale of alligator eels.
Experts call for strengthening the supervision of the whole process of alien species
Native to North America, crocodile eels are suitable for living in the tropics, why do they appear in natural waters? Experts said that the alligator eel was introduced as an ornamental fish because the eggs were highly toxic and inedible, and its special form satisfied the curiosity of consumers. However, due to the rapid growth of alligator eels, many people discard them because they cannot provide enough space to continue feeding.
An important reason why crocodile eels will quickly appear in many parts of the country is that consumers have a low purchase threshold, but the release behavior is out of control. According to the investigation and analysis, the crocodile eels that appear in many natural waters of the mainland are basically artificially released. Experts suggest that the supervision of the whole process of introduction, breeding, trade, discarding and release of alien species should be strengthened. 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. At present, the agricultural and rural departments in many places have begun to carry out a census of alien species, including crocodile eels. Experts said that although the alligator eel is not currently included in the list of invasive alien species, the latest list of invasive alien species will be released soon, and the alligator eel is expected to be included. Article 81 of the Biosecurity Law also specifically stipulates that if an alien species is released or discarded without approval, the person whose circumstances are serious will be subject to legal responsibility.
A variety of invasive species are common in Quanzhou, which seriously affect the local ecological environment and human health
So, under what circumstances does the alligator eel become an invasive species? And what can we do to protect invasive species?
In addition to the alligator eel that enters the wild waters, the common invasive species in Quanzhou include scavengers, Fushou snails, red fire ants, crayfish, mutual flower rice grass, water hyacinth and so on. In the news we have reported before, scavengers and Fushou snails have caused ecological losses to Donghu Park, and even had a bad impact on Quanzhou's agriculture.
Xu Xiaolan, a staff member of the Park Center Office of Quanzhou Urban Management Bureau
"The scavenger is in the fish tank, he's a very good cleaner, but it's a disaster to put it in our whole Great Lakes area. For example, African crucian carp, Brazilian turtles, Fushou snails and the like, invaded our ecosystem, resulting in some of our local fish species, such as white crucian carp, are now relatively smaller in number, and also have a very large impact on our lotus. ”
Cai Yingjie, deputy director of Quanzhou Plant Protection and Plant Inspection Station
"[Fushou snail] is mainly harmful to paddy crops, such as rice, zibai, and lotus seeds. These paddy field crops only harmed about 37,000 mu in our city last year. ”
At the beginning of the introduction of mutual flower rice grass, it originally had the effect of consolidating the sediment on the river beach and protecting the coastline, but due to rapid reproduction, the biodiversity of the wetland was destroyed, and even caused the river to be intercepted, and serious problems such as red tide were formed. Due to its strong reproductive ability, water hyacinth breeds wildly during the annual rainy season, which will affect the regional water quality and oxygen content.
Qiu Yong, Associate Professor of the Department of Marine Biology, Quanzhou Normal University
"As an invasive species there are two characteristics, the first is alien and the second is that it has a significant destructive effect on local ecosystems. In the original ecosystem, due to the system formed over thousands of years, it has its ecological niche, it does not have much impact on its own ecosystem, and can even be used to deal with alien species in its ecosystem. For China, because we do not have its natural enemies locally, it is easy to cause its reproduction and flooding, which will cause it to be an alien species. ”
At the same time, experts introduced that many invasive alien species are excellent intermediate hosts for some parasites, and native organisms and humans are easily infected with diseases due to accidental ingestion and accidental touch.
Invasive species are mostly outflowed from breeding And do not release them without authorization
In addition, with the rise of the pet industry in recent years, exotic and ornamental pets have been sought after by many fashion-seeking citizens. However, in the face of these exotic species that have not been deeply studied in China, if the breeding process is improper, or if they are directly abandoned after freshness, it will be a serious harm to the local ecology. At present, the state has promulgated a number of laws and regulations, such as the Administrative Measures for the Quarantine of Objects Carried by Entry and Exit Personnel, the Directory of Animals and Plants and Their Products Prohibited from Being Carried or Mailed into China, and other laws and regulations, which clearly stipulate that articles that may introduce invasive species and trees and animals that may carry invasive species are not arbitrarily carried. However, the prevention and control of invasive species requires the participation of the whole people.
Qiu Yong, Associate Professor of the Department of Marine Biology, Quanzhou Normal University
"Protecting the ecological environment is everyone's responsibility. If we personally have pets, aquatic creatures or plants to breed, we must do not release and abandon them at will. Especially for unknown animals and plants, giving up release at will is not only bad for us personally, but even illegal. As an individual, I would like to advise you not to release your pets into the wild, as it may have an unimaginable impact on the local ecology. ”