# piranha found in s.fl pond



## joeytoad83 (Sep 10, 2004)

this is why they are illegal, in southern states. some jackass releases there pet they no longer want. its also why s. fl is over run with wild iguanas and pythons

http://myfwc.com/NEWSROOM/09/south/News_09_S_Piranha1.htm link has pics of fish they caught. last year some kid caught a huge pacu.

FWC responds to piranha caught in South Florida retention pond

November 17, 2009
Contact: Gabriella Ferraro, 772-215-9459; 
or Patricia Behnke, 850-251-2130


FAQs: Piranha and rotenone
A 14-year-old boy fishing in a retention pond near West Palm Beach caught more than a largemouth bass in October. When he pulled his fish ashore, he and his father discovered a red-bellied piranha on the end of the hook.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists went to work immediately to determine if this was a lone exotic and illegal fish or if others had been placed in the pond as well. Ten days later, another piranha was discovered.

"We electro-fished the pond immediately, but did not find any evidence of other piranha in those initial efforts," said Paul Shafland, exotic fish biologist with the FWC. "However, we continued sampling this pond and collected a second specimen with gillnets. Although we have continued sampling this pond, we have not collected any other piranha."

The FWC believes the piranha were dumped in the pond from someone's aquarium, which is illegal, but it is not known how many were released.

"The only way to be sure all of the piranha are gone is to apply a safe-to-use fish toxicant to kill any piranha that might still be present in this pond," said Scott Hardin, the FWC's exotic species leader. "Fisheries managers have used rotenone since 1934 by to eradicate unwanted fish without harming habitat, and its use is a standard fish-management technique."

FWC biologists will apply rotenone to the pond on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Piranha are completely prohibited, and no one is allowed to legally possess this species in Florida, but individual specimens have shown up eight times in recent decades under similar circumstances. However, the FWC has never found any evidence of a breeding population of piranha.

"People may move here from another state with their pet piranha only to find out their possession is illegal in Florida. Other times, someone might have purchased one illegally. For whatever reason - maybe they're moving or just don't want them anymore," Shafland said. "Then they think the best thing to do is to release them in a nearby pond, but they couldn't be more wrong. In fact, that's the very worst thing they could do. Piranha in a freshwater pond could feed on native freshwater species, such as bream and largemouth bass."

Possession of piranha in Florida is punishable by a maximum $1,000 fine and a year in jail. Releasing any prohibited species, such as piranha, into the wild in Florida is a first-degree misdemeanor, also punishable by a $1,000 fine and a year in jail. In fact, releasing any nonnative species into the wild is a crime.

Anyone who has a piranha or knows someone who does should call the local FWC regional office and turn it in, without fear of repercussions. Otherwise the piranha owner runs the risk of being caught and punished.

"We can help anyone who has an illegal species, such as piranha, or anyone who can no longer care for a nonnative species," Hardin said. "We encourage folks to call us, and we'll help - no questions asked."

Shafland said FWC biologists will continue to monitor nearby waterways after all the fish have been removed from this pond to ensure they haven't missed anything. They expect to be removing dead fish for up to four days. When they are certain the pond is free of all piranha, FWC biologists will stock the lake with native freshwater fish.

"We'll continue looking and listening carefully to what the anglers are telling us, though at this point I do not expect any piranha to show up elsewhere," Shafland said.

Both Shafland and Hardin stress that the young angler's catch of a piranha is a serious reminder that never, under any circumstances, should a nonnative species be released into the wild.


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## TheWayThingsR (Jan 4, 2007)

Wow and it's not a Pacu this time.

Edit: wow, just saw that it was 12". Thats a big red. And by the look at its fins, there might be more in that pond.

Edit 2: or not since they "electro-fished the pond" and didnt find anymore.


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## Wide_Eyed_Wanderer (Aug 22, 2006)

That was a fat RBP, wherever it was dumped it was eating good!


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## kove32 (Oct 26, 2004)

Wow.. that things is massive.. I wonder how long its been in there.. amazing that it could survive on its own..

Go from living in a tank and being fed to hunting your own food and staying away from prey..


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

Good banther for P discussion. Moved...ok?


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## joeytoad83 (Sep 10, 2004)

no prob wasnt sure where to put it. there gonna poison the pond to kill any that may remain, so i keep an ear out to c if any more were there.


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## CyberGenetics (Mar 29, 2009)

joeytoad83 said:


> no prob wasnt sure where to put it. there gonna poison the pond to kill any that may remain, so i keep an ear out to c if any more were there.


Ya i dont understand this part, wouldnt that kill the native fish aswell?


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## TheWayThingsR (Jan 4, 2007)

VinceC_69 said:


> no prob wasnt sure where to put it. there gonna poison the pond to kill any that may remain, so i keep an ear out to c if any more were there.


Ya i dont understand this part, wouldnt that kill the native fish aswell?
[/quote]

Its stated that its a retention pond. So it's most likely stocked anyway. The 'poison' they're using wont hurt the habitat, so they can restock it again.


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## TJcali (Mar 27, 2009)

man thats some crazy sh*t but im not that suprised bc the weather is pretty worm out there year around. But who the hell would want to get rid of such nice p's those are people that fucked it all up for rest of the us out in all thee other states


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

damn what a shame. althought whoever put it there is an idiot


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2009)

Here is the video.
Usually, these "piranha" are actually pacu, but from the picture it appears to be really a piranha. and not a pacu this time.

Link:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player...tid=50914428001

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1859729971?isVid=1&publisherID=1398322598

Let me know if the video doesn't work.


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## T-wag (May 21, 2009)

damn the piranha were beautiful....they shoulda just let em breed and stay in the pond if there was no way for them to get out of it....how cool would it be to piranha fish....then again u have to worry about birds somehow transporting the piranhas to another body of water =/ damn what a shame i wish piranhas where native to michigan!


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## HGI (Oct 27, 2009)

T-wag said:


> damn the piranha were beautiful....they shoulda just let em breed and stay in the pond if there was no way for them to get out of it....how cool would it be to piranha fish....then again u have to worry about birds somehow transporting the piranhas to another body of water =/ damn what a shame i wish piranhas where native to michigan!


Can't Florida is swampland, they're prone to floodings and that opens the door from fish getting from one pond to another.

Thought it would be awesome if they left let them take over that pond, then we could get cheap wild rpb from Florida lol.


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