Taipei, December 12 (Xinhua) -- The Taiwan Museum of Marine Science and Technology, in cooperation with a non-governmental team, has successfully artificially bred the first generation of seedlings of Taiwan's native freshwater fish "Pasteuris silver catfish".
Chen Yixiong, deputy director of the Taiwan Museum of Marine Science and Technology, told the media that the "Pap's Silver Catfish" was first discovered in the wild in 2000 and currently only exists in the middle and lower reaches of the Wuxi River section in Taichung, in tributary canals and ponds. Due to the impact of river pollution, alien invasion and road damming and other projects, the living space of this species is greatly threatened, and the "Red Book Catalogue of Freshwater Fish in Taiwan" released in 2017 lists "pasteurized silver catfish" as critically endangered.
"Pasteuris" belongs to the lower class of near-benthic fish, preferring to inhabit the gentle flow area of the lower reaches of the stream, with aquatic plant clusters of water mainly, mainly based on benthic invertebrates and organic detritus. The researchers believe that this fish takes about 2 years to mature, which is relatively slower than that of the average freshwater brook fish, which is also one of the reasons for the decrease in individuals in the wild.
Chen Yixiong introduced that the research team successfully bred the first generation of fry outside the habitat of "Pasteuris silver catfish", and the fry are currently in the rehabilitation center of Taiwan Ocean University.