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Piranah caught in NC.
Jerry Melton holds a piranha July 2, 2007, which he recently caught in the Catawba River, in ...
N.C. Fisherman Reels in a Piranha
By Associated Press
3 hours ago
MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. - A fisherman looking to catch a catfish for dinner instead reeled in a fish that flashed its teeth and bit his knife. Jerry Melton, 46, was fishing in the Catawba River last week when he caught what state wildlife officials later identified as a piranha, a South American carnivorous fish that lives in freshwater.
"When I got it on the bank I didn't really know what it was; I hadn't seen anything like it before," Melton said.
When Melton opened the fish's mouth with a pocketknife, he said the fish bit down and left an impression on the blade.
Wildlife officials told Melton on Saturday that he caught a 1 pound, 4 ounce piranha that was probably dumped in the river. Melton was fishing in Mount Holly, a town northwest of Charlotte.
The catch highlights the growing problem of people keeping exotic animals and fish as pets and later dumping them into local waters, said Paul Barrington, an ichthyologist with the Fort Fisher Aquarium. Earlier this year, another fisherman caught a snakehead fish _ also a nonnative fish _ in Lake Wylie near Charlotte.
"Releasing nonnative fish in our native waters is highly irresponsible because it could have a very adverse affect on the fish in that ecosystem," Barrington said. "Piranha and the snakehead fish have no predators in our waters."
Jacob Rash, a North Carolina Wildlife Resources biologist, said he believes the piranha was the first caught in the Catawba River and possibly the first in the region.
Melton, who is keeping the piranha in his freezer until he can have it mounted, said the experience will keep him out of the river's water.
"I've been fishing there my whole life," he said. "Catching something like that is definitely going to make me think twice about what's in that water."
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| July 3, 2007, 19:44 |
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Re: Piranah caught in NC.
OH wow, hope there was only one so there won't be nay offsping populating the river!
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| July 3, 2007, 19:46 |
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Re: Piranah caught in NC.
I will be waring a metal jock strap while swimming there.
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| July 3, 2007, 19:50 |
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NRG4U
63 / male
Beaver City, Nebraska, US
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Re: Piranah caught in NC.
There was also a pirahna caught in a sandpit near here, 2 years ago, the good thing is, they can't survive a cold winter, they require a warm climate
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| July 3, 2007, 19:54 |
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Re: Piranha caught in NC.
Piranha and other exotic fish are prohibited from importation into the US. I guess you can go on the Internet and order illegal fish through legal means, usually through importers located outside the US borders.
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| July 5, 2007, 07:08 |
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Re: Piranah caught in NC.
Now that bites!
I use to fish around the Pee Dee River.
Nothing around there but fish and moonshine!
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| July 7, 2007, 12:17 |
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