It's been revealed that another Pacu ended up on the end of a line in August - this time in a lake near Marysville, Washington.
This is Pacu number four caught in non-native waters in less than two months — and it was the third one caught in August alone. Also that month a 20cm/8" specimen was caught in Scandinavian waters and a larger 30cm/12" specimen was caught in the Seine, in Paris. Then last month another turned up in a lake in New Jersey.
In August John Denton was fishing in Lake Ki at the back of his home near Marysville, when he caught a large fish, weighing around five pounds. It took him 20 minutes to reel in and by the time he'd got it into his net he says the whole neighbourhood had come over to take a look at the 42.5cm/17" catch.
One of his neighbours had worked at an aquarium in the past and recognised the fish as a Pacu. Its ID was later confirmed by officials from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A spokesman for Washington Fish and Wildlife told Huffington Post that the Pacu is being mounted to educate residents about the problems caused by invasive fish, as there have been a number of exotic fish including piranha and other Pacu dumped in that area in the past, presumably after outgrowing their aquaria.
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