NANFA-L-- Florida exotics
Harry Knaub (harryknaub-in-suscom.net)
Sun, 14 May 2006 12:03:03 -0400
Just a few notes from my recent trip to Florida.
I was catching up with e-mails this morning and I read a post from Dave
McNeely about invasives, blue tilapia, and he mention Florida. This reminded
me of a revelation I experianced while on vacation in Florida recently.
The Lowry Park Zoo has a Manatee rehabilatation exhibit with large veiwing
windows in a grotto area. Cameron and I were looking-in-the manatees and the
many large fish in the tank with them, when a two foot long red-tailed catfish
swam by. I suddenly was looking-in-the fish from a new perspective and
realized that these fish were exotics and I would wager they were removed from
local waters.These were some large fish and they could do a lot of damage when
introduced to a new ecosystem.
Cameron and I were collecting in a tributary of the Hillsborough River just
outside of Tampa. I was staring into the water-in-all these little
livebearers, when suddenly a 12 to 15 inch long Plecostomus swam right up to
the edge of the water. I was kind of excited about this but a couple of local
fisherman seemed rather nonchalant about it. Of course, they told me they were
trying to catch some nile perch that lived in this particular pool.
Harry Knaub
York PA
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