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There's a chance someone had it as a pet and released it into the wild. How the dead arapaima got to the Caloosahatchee River remains a mystery. Non-native fish should be humanely killed and never released alive back into the water. The FWC said to make sure to take a photo, if possible, and provide the location, date and time of the sighting. State wildlife officials ask anyone who catches or sees an arapaima or other nonnative freshwater fish species in the wild to call the Exotic Species Hotline at 1-888-IVE-GOT1 (1-88), report it through the FWC's I've Got 1 App or report it online at I'. Galloway said lionfish feed on commercially and economically important fish, something that affects diving tourism.Īnd like lionfish, arapaima feed on commercially important fish, increasing their threat to the economy.
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If a large, reproductively active one was found, "there is likely more in Florida," she said. Lionfish were quick to establish an invasive presence in Florida, she said, because females can produce egg masses every four days and can release up to two million eggs a year.īut Galloway had an ominous warning about the arapaima. Katherine Galloway, a biologist at Nicholls State University in Louisiana and an expert on lionfish, said arapaima lay eggs in February, March and April, so it potentially could take them longer to establish a presence. However, they could survive in the waters of extreme southeast Florida.ĭr. The FWC said the arapaima habitats are limited by their sensitivity to cool water - they can even die in water that's 60 degrees or colder. John Cassani, head of Calusa Waterkeeper, a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting waterways in the region, agreed, writing in an email that it "would seem unlikely as sightings are rare and this one may be unique to the Caloosahatchee River." A person may possess, transport, or give away a desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) or the progeny of a desert tortoise provided the person possessed the tortoise prior to Apor obtained the tortoise through a Department authorized adoption program. Annotated list of introduced non-native fishes, mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic plants in Texas waters. Distributional notes on some north Florida freshwater fishes. "There is no evidence that arapaima have reproduced in the wild in Florida," the FWC said in an email. Per Arizona Game and Fish Department Rule R12-4-407(B) (1). Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners 22:495-501. It is also capable of producing hundreds of thousands of eggs during its lifetime.īut that apparently hasn't happened here. The arapaima, because of its varied and voracious appetite, is a threat to native Florida wildlife. "I can't imagine it's good for our ecosystem," he said.Īnd he's right.