Will & Dre

Beeld reported this morning that a man was arrested because of the illegal import and distribution of Chinese grass carp. I translated the original article for our English readers.

A man appeared in court because of the illegal import of Chinese grass carp. He sold and released some of the fish into local farm dams.

Mr. Deon Erasmus (43), a resident of Pretoria was arrested in the region of Middelburg Mpumalanga, while releasing the fish into a local dam.

Mr. Francois Roux, aquatic scientist of the Mpumalanga park and tourism agency (MPTA), stated that Chinese grass carp released in local rivers and dams can be devastating to ecosystems.

The MPTA themselves use Chinese grass carp as biological control agents to manage water grass, but they do so with strict controls in place. The Chinese grass carp used by government are sterile and can therefore not breed naturally.

Roux stated that grass carp released within local water systems can cause an ecological disaster. One fish can eat the equivalent of its body weight, some fish weighing up to 40 kg.

Roux and members of the police was informed of a man from Pretoria that imported grass carp from Israel, apparently he sold the fish for R50.00 per fish to local farmers. The MPTA sell sterile grass carp equipped with microchips at R150.00 per fish.

The police confiscated 155 grass carp and the containers they were transported with.

Erasmus was released on bail of R1000.00 and will appear in court on 23 September

You can read the original article as written by Beeld here