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.
If you suspect a wildlife law violation, report it to the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404 FWCC (3922). If your information results in an arrest, you may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. To learn more about the FWC's Wildlife Alert program or to report a violation online, visit MyFWC.com/Violation.
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