keeping illegal fish

[SimonL]

Environmental zealotry often leads to unnecessary prohibitions. For example, snakeheads are banned in Ontario. In BC, where the climate is actually warmer, snakeheads are legal (and not exactly invading BCs waterways).

 

[RTC GAR TSN]

obviously i understand why alot of fish are illegal in warmer places. BUT I LIVE IN CT. the lakes here get covered with 3 feet of ice. please someone explain to me what a piranha or giant snakehead could do if released in lakes up here. answer....NOTHING.

Actually there has been a lake that is believed to have piranha in it in Minnesota.... It was on the Discovery channel a while back....

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

facepalm^

Actually I don't think a fish which couldn't survive in the wild where you live is typically considered an illegal fish
[with a few exceptions (reason 1)]

Generally I can only consider 2 main reasons why certain type of fish are illegal in where you live.

1. Extinction, some of them are at the brisk of extinction and laws are passed to give those species a higher chance of survival in the wild by ensuring none (few) of them are caught for aquarium trades

2. Quite the opposite. Those fish would spread like wildfires once they are release in the wild. They would breed quickly and upset the natural balance of that ecosystem, threatening the survival of the local species. A good example would be the Snakehead.
Hence a fish which isn't driven to the point of extinction and would not survive in local waters generally isn't illegal since even if you release them. They would just die and rot/get eaten and would have little impact on the ecosystem. There are also a few various reason why certain fishes are illegal but I won't go into them.

there are plenty of snakeheads that cant live here

 

[Dan F]

Interesting question.

I have owned a Common Snapping Turtle for about eight years. I didn't find out they are illegal in Oregon until after I'd had her for a few years. I went through a rather lengthy process to get a Prohibited Species Permit, and now we're all good.

 

[nicholasdances]

Environmental zealotry often leads to unnecessary prohibitions. For example, snakeheads are banned in Ontario. In BC, where the climate is actually warmer, snakeheads are legal (and not exactly invading BCs waterways).

this

 

[Chaz88]

Actually there has been a lake that is believed to have piranha in it in Minnesota.... It was on the Discovery channel a while back....

These cases almost always end up being Pacu or completely false.

 

[RTC GAR TSN]

These cases almost always end up being Pacu or completely false.

Is that why a scientist went to the lake and caught a red belly piranha???

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

Is that why a scientist went to the lake and caught a red belly piranha???

where is ur proof?? ill help you out, there isnt any. unless the piranha was released and caught by him 15 min after he let it go.

 

[Chaz88]

Is that why a scientist went to the lake and caught a red belly piranha???

I used the word "almost" because anything is possible under the correct circumstances.

I could not find a report of a scientist or the Discovery channel catching RBP in Minnesota. I did find a Minnesota report of 4 boys catching one by hand in a drainage channel. According to one report RBP are, on rare occasions, caught during the summer in several northern states and found dead in the cooler months. All occurrences are rare and attributed to fish owners releasing them. Could find no reports of any impact on native habitat or people.

 

[HungDang]

for snakehead, I believe that a lot of small American native fish species I saw in the endangered-threaterned list could be the result of snakehead problem.
And for Asian Arowana, it is a stupid law !