A
startling discovery was made on 18 February when Environment Agency
fisheries officers were called to identify a very unusual fish, dropped on
to the decks of a boat on the Thames.
A native of
the River Amazon in South America, the 10cm Red Bellied Piranha is
suspected to have been dropped by a passing seagull.
“The Thames
is now home to over 119 different species of fish, so the Fisheries
Officers were not unduly surprised,” said Tom Cousins, Environment Agency
Fisheries Officer. “It was very fresh and had obviously only just died.
You could clearly see the marks made by the seagull’s beak on its back.”
The discovery
was made on board the Thames Bubbler, which was moored at Halfway Reach in
Dagenham. Ironically the vessel, which is owned by Thames Water, is an
oxygenation vessel, dedicated to keeping fish and aquatic life alive.
The identification was confirmed by the Curator of the London Aquarium,
Paul Hale, who said ‘It is definitely a Red Bellied Piranha, but it would
not survive in the low temperatures of the Thames, and we imagine that it
was probably released and then floated to the surface where it was picked
up by one of the every hungry seagulls and deposited onto the boat.’
‘Piranhas are
generally nervous and not the ferocious killers people think they are.
They prey on weak and injured animals, including fish, birds and mammals,
as well as carrion,’ he continued.
Piranhas
could not survive in temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius for more than a
few days whilst the water temperature in the River Thames is currently
closer to 10 degrees. The deliberate release of such a fish into the river
is therefore not only illegal, but cruel.
Owners of
aquarium fish are reminded that it is an offence to release any non-native
species into the wild under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The
Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 also requires the Environment
Agency’s written consent to release fish into any inland water.
More information:
-
The Thames Estuary now supports over 119 species
of fish, is an important marine nursery ground and plays a major part in
supporting North Sea stocks. There are recreational fisheries for a range of
species, a commercial eel fishery below Tower Bridge and one
for sole below Mucking. A list of fish species found in the river to
date is available from Thames Region of the Environment Agency.
-
The ‘Thames Bubbler’ and her sister vessel
‘Thames Vitality’ are owned and operated by Thames Water PLC. They are
dedicated mobile oxygenation barges that pump oxygen into the river
during periods of poor water quality. They are operated under
Environment Agency supervision.
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