Invasive Catfish Threaten Taiwan's ‘Land of 1,000 Lakes’

Large numbers of invasive suckermouth catfish present a threat to the local ecosystem and fish farmers' livelihoods in Taoyuan in northern Taiwan.

Transcript

00:00 A truck full of fish caught in the northwestern city of Taoyuan, but for local fish farmers,

00:07 there's no joy in such a catch. The fish are an invasive species called the sucker-mouth

00:13 catfish or common pleco. These bottom feeders have little economic value but can out-compete

00:19 other native fish that do.

00:23 Taoyuan is known in Taiwan as the "Land of a Thousand Lakes" for its vast network of

00:27 ponds that play an important role in irrigation. But drought conditions in recent years mean

00:33 the ponds have not been flushed out to keep them clean. And that's left the catfish free

00:39 to multiply.

00:41 "If the catfish don't have enough food to feed themselves, the pond will be full of catfish

00:48 for generations."

00:50 Plecos are a tropical freshwater fish first brought to Taiwan in the 1970s. Kept at home

00:56 as a pet, they are considered useful to help keep the fish tank clean. But after being

01:02 released into nature, they are now found in the middle or lower reaches of Taiwan's rivers,

01:07 as well as ponds and lakes. Local authorities plan to drain ponds, in line with existing

01:13 irrigation management, and scoop the catfish out.

01:20 "Draining ponds is a feasible way to do this. But it requires a low-water irrigation system."

01:27 Two ponds have been cleared out in this way to show fish farmers how to rid themselves

01:34 of the pesky sucker mouths.

01:37 Howard Zhang and Yujing Huang for Taiwan Plus.

01:40 Thank you very much.

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