Removal work of tilapia, a non-native fish species, has recently been carried out at the Wensui Service Area by the Shei-Pa National Park Administration.
This is to ensure the lives of native fish like Rhinogobius candidianus, Cadidia barbata, and Acrossocheilus paradoxus Günther. Over the last 11 years at the Wensui Service Area, although the number of native fish has grown substantially, alien species have also proliferated so much as to threaten native fish’s lives.
According to a survey conducted in 2010 by the Shei-Pa National Park Administration staff, there were 1,500 tilapia in the ecological pond of the Wensui Service Area, i.e. 70% of the pond’s fish population. In fact, because the number of tilapia continued to increase, actions must be taken to keep the fish ecology under control.
“The 2010 Study on the Fish Fauna of Wensui River Near Wensui Service Area, Shei-Pa National Park” shows that the first removal work has been carried out by using throw nets. This will be done every season, and records will be taken to make sure native fish suffer less from the powerful tilapia fish and proliferate more.
Non-native species have generated so many problems that they become a much discussed subject in the international ecology and conservation scenes. The Shei-Pa National Park Administration hopes the number of alien fish will be kept under control through removal work. It is also hoped that the general public, including some religious groups, to refrain from freeing any captured or unwanted fish or aquatic species to Wensui Service Area. After all, the best way to enjoy the Wensui Area without interfering its native ecology.