RIDLEY PARK, Pa. — An 8-year-old boy’s sudden catch at a lake close to Philadelphia has drawn consideration to the difficulty of unique pets being launched into native waterways.
Throughout a Saturday morning fishing journey, Seamus Coffey was reeling in what he thought is likely to be a big bass when he realized he had hooked one thing uncommon.
“I am reeling it in, and I believe there is a bass,” Seamus mentioned.
His father, Michael Coffey, recalled saying: “I used to be like, ‘Decelerate dude, you may lose it.’ This seems to be like one thing we have not caught earlier than.”
However what they discovered on the opposite finish of the road caught them abruptly.
“I used to be like, ‘Oh, it is a bluegill, I do not know what that is,'” recalled Michael. “And he mentioned, ‘It is a piranha!'”
When requested how he knew, Seamus replied, “As a result of I watch YouTube!”
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Fee later confirmed the identification.
“Our biologists have confirmed that that is some species of piranha,” mentioned Mike Parker, a spokesperson for the company.
Whereas the catch made for one heck of a narrative for the father-son fishing duo, Parker mentioned the presence of a tropical fish native to South America in a Pennsylvania lake factors to a bigger difficulty: folks releasing unique pets once they can not take care of them.
“I believe lots of occasions folks do, you realize, they’ve a dream: I wish to personal an unique fish or a snake or an alligator, and it is cute when it is small. However possibly they cannot afford that or home it anymore, they usually resolve possibly that is another person’s downside,” Parker mentioned.
Parker mentioned the piranha would not have survived in Pennsylvania waters for very lengthy, out of its pure habitat, and sure unaccustomed to the survival expertise wanted for the wild after residing as a pet.
“It is a lifelong duty for a lot of of those species that do stay pretty lengthy lives and are costly to maintain, require a particular habitat, particular meals, lots of care,” Parker mentioned. “And folks rapidly tire of that and resolve the most effective factor to do for this animal could be to go throw it within the river, go throw it in a pond. That’s in all probability the worst factor you are able to do for an animal that is been a pet.”
Michael Coffey mentioned he disposed of the fish correctly.
“So we ended up eliminating it, humanely,” he mentioned.
Parker mentioned that was the precise determination, noting the fish posed a hazard to the general public and will have disrupted the ecosystem. He added that releasing unique species into Pennsylvania waters is unlawful.
“Even when the regulation says that you just’re allowed to personal an unique pet, whether or not that be a fish or a reptile, you are not allowed to introduce that species into the wilds of Pennsylvania. So that’s illegal. You might be fined, prosecuted,” Parker mentioned.
As for our fearless fisherman Seamus, he says he wasn’t petrified of the razor-toothed predator in any respect, and his primary pastime stays unchanged.
“Fishing is my favourite factor,” he mentioned.
“We have had some loopy fishing experiences, however that is undoubtedly primary,” Michael added.
Parker mentioned it’s unlikely extra piranhas are within the lake, however anybody who sees or catches one ought to report it to the Fish and Boat Fee.
