Vigilance needed to control aliens

A resident in Liuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was attacked by three vicious fish that later proved to be piranha. They bit in his hand when he was washing his dog in the Liujiang River on July 7. Laws and regulations should be issued to control not only piranhas, but also other alien species, says an article in Legal Daily. Excerpts:

Piranhas have no natural predator in China, and considering their fast reproduction rate, once they form a natural population they will cause huge damage to China's biodiversity and hydro-ecosystem.

Years ago, the media reported that piranhas were for sale in markets in several provinces and said the relevant departments needed to strengthen their supervision. However, there is still no regulation governing alien species. It is no wonder piranhas are found in rivers around the country.

The Fishery Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture issued an urgent circular in 2002 that required local governments to control piranhas. However, the lack of a specific regulation for ornamental fish management has stopped the fishery department from performing its duty.

To solve the problem, legislation should be introduced establishing a monitoring system for alien species and empowering the General Administration of Customs, commodity inspection bureaus and fishery departments to guard against the introduction of alien species.

Finally, considering the possibility that we have already lost or will lose control over some alien species, the whole of society should be mobilized to work together to eliminate dangerous alien species.

(China Daily 07/11/2012 page9)