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 US acts over predatory fish By Paul Rincon BBC News Online science staff  The US Government is to tighten rules on importing a species of predatory fish amid fears it could devastate local ecosystems. Interior Secretary Gale Norton will announce a series of measures after the northern snakehead fish, which is native to Asia, was found in lakes in seven states.
The fish, which can grow up to three feet (one metre) long and "walk" on land, are believed to have been dumped by a resident in Maryland who imported them to make soup in a Chinese restaurant. The snakehead eats other fish and pondlife and can survive out of water for up to three days. Risk of escape Officials are considering ways to destroy the fish, including poisoning the lake in Maryland where at least 80 baby snakeheads have been found. Draining the lakes runs a risk of letting the fish escape to other nearby lakes and streams.
"If they got into the larger [water] system, they could alter the food chain and displace other species," said John Surrick, from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The fish, which have heads shaped like a snake's, can eat other fish, frogs, birds and even small mammals. "You're talking about a total rearrangement of the food chain when you introduce a top predator like this," said Walter Courtenay, from the US Geological Survey in Florida. Culinary delight The interior secretary will propose adding 28 species of snakehead fish to a list of imports which require a special permit.
The measure would make it illegal to trade the fish across state lines. Snakehead fish are brought into the US for culinary use, and can be eaten smoked or dried. They are an Asian delicacy, and, with their ugly wide mouths and heavy scales, people in some parts of Thailand and Burma believe the snakeheads to be reincarnated sinners. |
China orders piranhas destroyed Francis Markus BBC Shanghai correspondent Ecologists in China have been expressing concern at the arrival of a new predator, the piranha fish, which has started to appear on sale in pet markets.
They say if it enters the country's rivers and lakes it could have an unforeseeable effect on the country's aquatic environment. The authorities in Beijing have ordered piranha fish at aquaria and amusement parks in the capital to be destroyed. The piranha fish may be an unfriendly creature, but the sharp-toothed native of South America has been gaining popularity as a pet in China. The fish, which can strip the flesh off an unwitting victim within minutes, have been appearing in ocean parks and on sale in pet markets, in various parts of the country. But their days may now be numbered. The authorities in Beijing have ordered all piranhas being kept at aquaria and amusement parks in the capital to be destroyed, and have threatened heavy fines against traders who continue to sell them. In Shanghai so far some traders say they have been banned from restocking with piranhas, but one shop promised fresh stocks by next week.
The measures come amid growing concern over the proliferation of the fish, with reports that they are being bred along northern China's Yellow River and may already have entered its river system, even though some scientists say that the winter temperatures there are too cold for them to survive.
Ecologists have been warning that if the fish do find their way into China's rivers and lakes, aquatic life could be seriously jeopardised. One commentator called for the government to strengthen the laws on importing such foreign species into China. But it may already be too late to prevent the fish from having an, as yet, unforeseeable impact on China's aquatic environment. |
Hungry piranha seeks good catch Red-bellied piranhas Peaches and Melba had drawn hundreds of visitors to the Anglesey Sea Zoo, in north Wales, and it was hoped they would produce some young. But the grim discovery was made after staff went to give the pair a morning feed. The zoo's aquarist, Chris Smith, said: "At first we thought Melba was hiding behind some reeds, but on closer inspection we found Peaches had eaten most of him," said zoo aquarist Chris Smith. "She had taken huge chunks out of him. They have been together for a few years and did have the occasional fight, but obviously this squabble went too far. Import restrictions "Peaches is seven years old and is coming up to a breeding age, so she was probably testing him. "She is slightly bigger than Melba and he obviously didn't come up to scratch." The zoo in Brynsiencyn, Anglesey, is searching for a replacement in the UK because of import restrictions. "The problem is you can't import piranha any more so we are looking throughout the country," Mr Smith added. "We will probably choose a fish that is slightly bigger than Peaches so she won't eat him." |
Scientists find 'smallest fish' BBC science correspondent 
Scientists have discovered the smallest known fish on record in the peat swamps of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Mature individuals of the Paedocypris genus can be as small as 7.9mm (0.3in) long, researchers write in a journal published by the UK's Royal Society. But they warn long-term prospects for the fish are poor, because of the rapid destruction of Indonesian peat swamps. The fish have taken extreme measures to survive in extreme habitats - pools of acid water in a tropical forest swamp. Food is scarce but the Paedocypris - smaller than other fish by a few tenths of a millimetre - can sustain their small bodies grazing on plankton near the bottom of the water. Human threat To keep their size down, the fish have abandoned many of the attributes of adulthood - a characteristic hinted at in their name. Their brain, for example, lacks bony protection and the females have room to carry just a handful of eggs. The males have a little clasp underneath that might help them fertilize eggs individually. Being so small, the fish can live through even extreme drought, by seeking refuge in the last puddles of the swamp. But they are now threatened by humans. Widespread forest destruction, drainage of the peat swamps for palm oil plantations and persistent fires are destroying their habitat. Science may have discovered Paedocypris just in time - but many of their miniature relatives may already have been wiped out.
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The [piranha's] head with its staring malignant eyes, and gaping, cruelly armed jaws, is the embodiment of evil ferocity
