Rep ese tative
image
A
8-yea -old
boy’s
u expected
catch
du i g
a
fishi g
t ip
at
a
lake
ea
Philadelphia
has
aised
co ce s
about
exotic
pets
bei g
i t oduced
i to
local
wate ways.O
Satu day
mo i g,
Seamus
Coffey,
8,
eeled
i
a
2-lb
ed-bellied
pi a ha,
which
he
i itially
thought
might
be
a
la ge
bass
while
he
was
fishi g
with
his
dad
at
a
lake
outside
the
city.”I’m
eeli g
it
i ,
a d
I
thi k
the e’s
a
bass,”
Seamus
said,
ABC
epo ted.His
fathe ,
Michael
Coffey,
thought
it
was
u like
a ythi g
they
had
caught
befo e.
“I
was
like,
‘Slow
dow ,
dude,
you
might
lose
it.
This
looks
like
somethi g
we
have ‘t
caught
befo e.'”The
boy,
howeve ,
ide tified
the
fish
f om
YouTube
videos
a d
ale ted
his
fathe ,
Michael,
to
the
u usual
catch.“I
was
like,
‘Oh,
this
is
a
bluegill,
I
do ‘t
k ow
what
this
is.’
A d
he
said,
‘It’s
a
pi a ha!’”
Michael
ecalled.
Pic
cou tesy:
Facebook/
Mike
Coffey
The
Pe sylva ia
Fish
a d
Boat
Commissio
spokesma ,
Mike
Pa ke ,
late
co fi med
the
fish
species
as
a
pi a ha.
“Ou
biologists
have
co fi med
that
this
is
some
species
of
pi a ha,”
Pa ke
said.Michael
sha ed
pictu es
of
the
catch
o
Facebook.
“At
this
poi t
you
ca ’t
put
a ythi g
past
Seamus.
Today
he
caught
a
2lb
ed
belly
pi a ha
out
of
the
Ridley
Pa k
Lake!
Of
all
thi gs.
#fishi g
#delco,”
he
captio ed.Though
the
fishi g
t ip
was
o e
heck
of
a
sto y
fo
the
fathe -so
duo
to
ecall
du i g
family
di e s,
this
catch
is
t oubli g.
The
p ese ce
of
a
t opical
fish
ative
to
South
Ame ica
i
a
Pe sylva ia
lake
hi ts
at
a
la ge
co ce :
exotic
a imals
pu chased
as
pets
e d
up
i
state
wate ways
whe
ow e s
ca
o
lo ge
ca e
fo
them.”I
thi k
a
lot
of
times
people
do,
you
k ow,
they
have
a
d eam:
I
wa t
to
ow
a
exotic
fish
o
a
s ake
o
a
alligato ,
a d
it’s
cute
whe
it’s
small.
But
maybe
they
ca ‘t
affo d
that
o
house
it
a ymo e,
a d
they
decide
maybe
this
is
someo e
else’s
p oblem,”
Pa ke
said.
He
also
added
that
the
pi a ha
would
ot
have
su vived
lo g
i
Pe sylva ia’s
colde
wate s.
Domestic
pets
lack
the
su vival
i sti cts
developed
i
the
wild
a d
a e
ofte
u p epa ed
fo
atu al
co ditio s.
The
fish
likely
would
have
died
f om
tempe atu e
shock
o
sta vatio .”It’s
a
lifelo g
espo sibility
fo
ma y
of
these
species
that
do
live
fai ly
lo g
lives
a d
a e
expe sive
to
take
ca e
of,
equi e
a
special
habitat,
special
food,
a
lot
of
ca e.
A d
people
quickly
ti e
of
that
a d
decide
the
best
thi g
to
do
fo
this
a imal
would
be
to
go
th ow
it
i
the
ive ,
go
th ow
it
i
a
po d.
That
is
p obably
the
wo st
thi g
you
ca
do
fo
a
a imal
that’s
bee
a
pet,”
Pa ke
said.Though
Michael
Coffey
a d
his
eight-yea -old
so
had
a
i te esti g
holiday
sto y
to
tell,
they
disposed
of
the
fish.
“So
we
e ded
up
getti g
id
of
it,
huma ely,”
he
said.Pa ke
said
that
was
the
co ect
espo se.
Releasi g
exotic
species
i to
Pe sylva ia
wate s
is
illegal,
as
it
poses
a
da ge
to
the
public.
This
is
ega dless
of
whethe
ow i g
the
a imal
is
pe mitted.
Violato s
face
fi es
a d
p osecutio .“Eve
if
the
law
says
that
you’ e
allowed
to
ow
a
exotic
pet,
whethe
that
be
a
fish
o
a
eptile,
you’ e
ot
allowed
to
i t oduce
that
species
i to
the
wilds
of
Pe sylva ia.
So
that
is
u lawful.
You
ca
be
fi ed,
p osecuted,”
Pa ke
added.Mea while,
Seamus
says
he
was ’t
sca ed
of
the
pi a ha,
eve
though
his
catch
had
azo -sha p
teeth.”Fishi g
is
my
favou ite
thi g,”
he
said.”We’ve
had
some
c azy
fishi g
expe ie ces,
but
that’s
defi itely
umbe
o e,”
Michael
said.Pa ke
said
the
cha ce
of
mo e
pi a has
bei g
i
the
lake
is
u likely,
but
a yo e
who
spots
o
catches
a
exotic
fish
should
epo t
it
to
the
Fish
a d
Boat
Commissio .