vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn  

HCM CITY — Environmentalists in the south are warning fish farmers along the Dong Nai River in the south to curb the import of carnivorous piranhas, as the meat-eating fish have become a menace to local waters.

The piranhas will wipe out native fish and pose a danger to residents, particularly children and old people, said Pham Huu Khanh, the head of the Cat Tien National Park’s Technological Science Office.

"We are very concerned about local families’ intentions to increase the number of piranhas on their fish farms," he said. "Large numbers of piranhas will upset the ecosystems of Dong Nai River and the Cat Tien Park."

Khanh said he and his colleagues have urged local authorities to ban the importation and breeding of piranhas in Viet Nam, fearing they could easily escape from local farms into the Dong Nai River in the coming flood reason.

Once the fish are allowed into the river, they will wreak havoc on the local environment, he warned.

Recently introduced in Vietnamese waters, the piranha is a species of South American freshwater fish measuring 25cm in length and weighing 0.6kg.

The ability of carnivorous piranhas to cut the flesh of their prey with their sharp, meshed, wedged-shaped teeth is legendary. Their prey consists mostly of other fish, but also includes birds and mammals, according to Khanh.

They associate in large schools and are drawn by commotion and the scent of blood. They have been known to work together to reduce a large mammals to a skeleton in a short time.

"Many households in provinces of Dong Nai and Lam Dong are breeding piranhas in their farms. In Lam Dong Province, more than 500 piranhas have been bred in Cat Tien District’s Dac Lo Lake," Khanh said. — VNS