TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Invasive Amazon sailfin catfish have invaded the lake within Bihu Park in Taipei’s Neihu District, greatly harming indigenous fish species, according to a China Times report on Saturday (Dec. 26).

Ecology expert Chang Chia-hung (張嘉宏) said that Amazon sailfin catfish use their vacuum-like mouths to eat algae, moss, and fish eggs from the bottom of the lake, sucking up as many as 3,000 eggs a day. This invasive species seriously interrupts the reproduction of native fish and wreaks ecological havoc in the lake, Chang added.

Taipei City Councilor Lee Chien-chang (李建昌) and the Taiwan Conservation Association of Native Fishes on Saturday cast nets and set up long baskets and other traps in an effort to catch catfish and protect the local ecosystem. Ultimately, they caught more than 80, according to the report.

Only by employing a comprehensive system of catching the invasive species can the damage be stopped, Lee said, adding that Amazon sailfin catfish can breed at one year old. They can grow to up to 50–60 centimeters in one and a half years, he stated.

When the neighboring Donghu area was flooded a few years ago, Amazon sailfin catfish were everywhere, a tell-tale sign that the local ecology had already been seriously affected, the city councilor said. He added that the Keelung River and Tamsui River basins have not been spared either.

Chang said that the catfish can be found in all of Taiwan's rivers, particularly in the central and southern regions. Catfish breeding season, which lasts from May to August, overlaps with that of many Taiwanese species, the ecology expert said. Their ability to lay thousands of eggs greatly adds to the threat they pose, Chang added.

Floriculture Experiment Center Director Sung Fu-hua (宋馥華) said that if the city government and civic groups can work together to successfully catch Amazon sailfin catfish, that model will be promoted on a larger scale. Hubin Borough Chief Chen Yu-xue (陳尤雪) suggested the Parks and Street Lights Office establish a routine long-term catching program, per China Times.

Amazon sailfin catfish (CNA photo)