LEMONAL, Belize District, Wed. Feb. 23, 2021– Earlier this month the Fisheries Department got wind of a new fish species native to South America that has made its way into the Belizean watershed. Recently, a father and son fishing in Lemonal village caught one of these fish, a Pacu.

Pacu is a name used to refer to a number of omnivorous South American freshwater fishes. A closer look at their teeth might surprise you; they’re similar to those of a human. Pacu are related to piranhas and, like their distant cousin, they are considered omnivores, but according to Senior Fisheries Officer, Rigoberto Quintana, they consume only decomposed organic material.

Pacus are a highly invasive species, which can crowd out our native species of freshwater fish. If left to reproduce without control, this species of fish, although not carnivorous, can disrupt, and cause considerable harm to the aquatic environment in Belize.

Senior Fisheries Officer, Rigoberto Quintana, shared that it may have found its way into Belizean water due to the massive floods which ravaged Central American countries last year. During that flooding, he noted, the New River and the Rio Hondo merged, creating a passage for the fish to migrate.