supergourami;5060969; said:
yeah they would. even in most parts of europe there illegal because of the damage they cause.
wels
- Thread starter troppond
- Start date
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
yeah they would. even in most parts of europe there illegal because of the damage they cause.
redtailcatfreak;5060971; said:well hopefully oddball will see this thread and can show the legisture on these guys.
I read through his thread on illegal fishes the other day and didn't come across them for most, if not all, states.
EDIT: Just read some updated federal regulations on injurious wildlife; the wels is not mentioned once. On to checking other regulations just to be sure they're legal.
Just read through the Endangered Species Act list and CITES list; the wels does not appear on either.
I'm not sure as to what other regulations need to be checked to be 100% sure of the legality of keeping wels in the U.S., but all of the major ones that I have read through do not mention them at all. Any suggestions of other regulations to read are welcome.
I'm not sure as to what other regulations need to be checked to be 100% sure of the legality of keeping wels in the U.S., but all of the major ones that I have read through do not mention them at all. Any suggestions of other regulations to read are welcome.
I have a big lake on my parents property, would love to throw a few wels in there hahaha
lakes atleast a mile long pretty sure it could live in there
lakes atleast a mile long pretty sure it could live in there
No one should be allowed to keep Wels catfish in any pond, lake, creek etc...regardless if the waters are private either. All it takes is a heavy rain season that causes a flood and now the fish are released. Obviously the release would not be intentional and no one could stop it.
There is an episode on "River Monsters" about wels catfish stalking and eating pigeons this season. Local wildlife could not compete nor defend against this. On another thread you mentioned your "Earthen pond that floods with a creek maybe 3 times a year."
Exactly what I mentioned above.
There is an episode on "River Monsters" about wels catfish stalking and eating pigeons this season. Local wildlife could not compete nor defend against this. On another thread you mentioned your "Earthen pond that floods with a creek maybe 3 times a year."
Exactly what I mentioned above.
Rays of Sunshine;5061154; said:No one should be allowed to keep Wels catfish in any pond, lake, creek etc...regardless if the waters are private either. All it takes is a heavy rain season that causes a flood and now the fish are released. Obviously the release would not be intentional and no one could stop it.
There is an episode on "River Monsters" about wels catfish stalking and eating pigeons this season. Local wildlife could not compete nor defend against this. On another thread you mentioned your "Earthen pond that floods with a creek maybe 3 times a year."
Exactly what I mentioned above.
That's a "no one should be allowed to keep" rather than a "no one can legally keep," so one could keep a wels legally in the U.S. if they managed to get one according to the various regulations that I have reviewed thus far.
Is it a good idea for most? Heck no! But if you have a pond/lake that's big enough to house an adult and have measures to ensure that it can't ever escape due to floods, etc. then it's certainly able to be done with little to no fear of it getting into a local waterway and doing some major ecological damage. Other precautions such as only having one in order to prevent them from reproducing will certainly help to keep your local waterways safe as far as wels invading and taking over.
I'm pretty sure that I would be fine in my case as far as escapes go:
If my ~96,000 gallon pond were to flood and a wels were to be able to escape and make it to the nearest river that's a few miles away then there are much bigger things to worry about considering the fact that it's on a pretty high hill which would mean that pretty much everywhere around me would be underwater by 30+ feet plus there are absolutely no nearby streams that could allow said fish to get into the nearest river even under extremely high water conditions.
Now with that being said, a wels would be a very bad idea if you have no way of preventing its escape under flood conditions or simply lack the space for one, so this fish is definitely not for most.
You would have to take precautions to make sure someone doesn't catch it from your pond and release it. In the past I have had fish stolen from a 20,000 gallon pond.
All it takes is for someone to find out you have one in your pond and think it would be awesome to catch them in the river. Then next thing you notice you are missing a fish and reports of fisherman hooking a huge fish that keeps getting away.
All it takes is for someone to find out you have one in your pond and think it would be awesome to catch them in the river. Then next thing you notice you are missing a fish and reports of fisherman hooking a huge fish that keeps getting away.
Excerpt from CFR regulations:
Title 9 Animals and Animal Products
PART 93—IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISH, AND POULTRY, AND CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND POULTRY PRODUCTS; REQUIREMENTS FOR MEANS OF CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS
Subpart I—Aquatic Animal Species
§ 93.900 Definitions
Spring viremia of carp (SVC) . A disease caused by infection with spring viremia of carp virus, a rhabodivrus capable of infecting several carp species, in addition to some other cyprinid and ictalurid fish species.
SVC-susceptible species . Common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ), grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idellus ), silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix ), bighead carp ( Aristichthys nobilis ), Crucian carp ( Carassius carassius ), goldfish ( Carassius auratus ), tench ( Tinca tinca ), and sheatfish ( Silurus glanis )
§ 93.901 General restrictions
(a) No live fish, fertilized eggs, or gametes of SVC-susceptible species may be imported into the United States except in accordance with this subpart,11 nor shall any such live fish, fertilized eggs, or gametes be moved from the port of entry after arrival until released by the port veterinarian; provided that the Administrator may, upon request in specific cases, allow the importation of SVC-susceptible live fish, fertilized eggs, or gametes under conditions other than those set forth in this subpart when the Administrator determines that such movement will not result in the introduction of SVC into the United States.
End of text
There is your citation for prohibiting import of Wels catfish, except under very restricted guidelines.
Title 9 Animals and Animal Products
PART 93—IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISH, AND POULTRY, AND CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND POULTRY PRODUCTS; REQUIREMENTS FOR MEANS OF CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS
Subpart I—Aquatic Animal Species
§ 93.900 Definitions
Spring viremia of carp (SVC) . A disease caused by infection with spring viremia of carp virus, a rhabodivrus capable of infecting several carp species, in addition to some other cyprinid and ictalurid fish species.
SVC-susceptible species . Common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ), grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idellus ), silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix ), bighead carp ( Aristichthys nobilis ), Crucian carp ( Carassius carassius ), goldfish ( Carassius auratus ), tench ( Tinca tinca ), and sheatfish ( Silurus glanis )
§ 93.901 General restrictions
(a) No live fish, fertilized eggs, or gametes of SVC-susceptible species may be imported into the United States except in accordance with this subpart,11 nor shall any such live fish, fertilized eggs, or gametes be moved from the port of entry after arrival until released by the port veterinarian; provided that the Administrator may, upon request in specific cases, allow the importation of SVC-susceptible live fish, fertilized eggs, or gametes under conditions other than those set forth in this subpart when the Administrator determines that such movement will not result in the introduction of SVC into the United States.
End of text
There is your citation for prohibiting import of Wels catfish, except under very restricted guidelines.
The guidelines can't be that restrictive, if all imported koi and goldfish must go through them. I do hope any prospective wels keepers will be as cautious as Wiggles seems to be. I don't think wels are the giant superpredators they are sometimes made out to be, but we certainly don't need yet another exotic fish established in the US. If anything, wels would compete with similar-sized native cats such as flatheads and blues, and possibly other big-water predators such as moronid basses.
