Alien fish invades Bangladesh’s inland waters

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A massive invasion of an alien fish in Bangladesh’s inland waters, including all major rivers, is threatening the aquatic ecology and freshwater fisheries.

Known as suckermouth catfish, native to South America, the fish’s invasive characteristic is globally recognised, especially after it invaded North America, the Caribbean and South Asia, causing aquatic degradation and replacing some of their native fishes.

The species poses a threat to the aquatic ecosystem as it is competing with native fishes for space and nutrient sources, according to experts.

Fisheries department officials are aware about the fish’s abundance in heavily polluted rivers flowing around and through the capital, including the Buriganga, where fishes cannot generally survive because of low oxygen and toxicity.

Researchers believe that the armoured catfish which belong to the Loricariidae family was imported in the 1980s as ornamental fish in Bangladesh and then it somehow got released or escaped into the wild in the 1990s.

At least three types of catfish known by their scientific names have been reported in Bangladesh. They are Pterygoplichthys anisitsi, Pterygoplichthys pardalis and Hypostomus plecostomus.

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