Nile Perch | National Invasive Species Information Center

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Nile perch - Pam Schofield - DOI, U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Name:

Lates niloticus (ITIS)

Common Name:

Nile Perch

Native To:

Africa (NAS Database)

Date of U.S. Introduction:

August 1975 (Rutledge and Lyons 1976)

Means of Introduction:

Intentionally introduced to Texas for sport fishing (Rutledge and Lyons 1976)

Impact:

Was introduced to Lake Victoria (Africa) in 1954, where it destroyed 200 native species of fish through predation and competition for food (Kaufman 1992); no negative impact in Texas so far as the species is still controlled (NAS Database)

Current U.S. Distribution:

Not currently established

Federally Regulated

Injurious Wildlife

DOI. FWS. Fish and Aquatic Conservation.

Includes species listed as injurious wildlife under the Federal Lacey Act (18 USC 42), which makes it illegal to import injurious wildlife into the United States or transport between the listed jurisdictions in the shipment clause (the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any possession of the United States) without a permit. An injurious wildlife listing would not prohibit intrastate transport or possession of that species within a State where those activities are not prohibited by the State.

Injurious wildlife are wild mammals, wild birds, amphibians, reptiles, fishes, crustaceans, mollusks and their offspring or eggs that are injurious to the interests of human beings, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, wildlife or wildlife resources of the U.S. Plants and organisms other than those stated above cannot be listed as injurious wildlife.
See also: Injurious Wildlife: A Summary of the Injurious Provisions of the Lacey Act (Dec 2017; PDF | 401 KB)

Images

Google Images - Nile perch

Google.

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Nile Perch.

Partnership

Global Invasive Species Database - Lates niloticus (fish)

IUCN. Species Survival Commission. Invasive Species Specialist Group.

Invasive Species Compendium - Lates niloticus

CAB International.

Federal Government

Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) Ecological Risk Screening Summary (Sep 2018) (PDF | 985 KB)

DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.

See also: Ecological Risk Screening Summaries for more species summaries

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database: Fact Sheet - Nile Perch

DOI. USGS. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.

Provides distribution maps and collection information (State and County).

Citations

Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Lates niloticus. [Accessed Mar 3, 2015].
Kaufman, L. 1992. Catastrophic change in species-rich freshwater ecosystems: the lessons of Lake Victoria. Bioscience 42:846-858.
Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. Fact Sheet - Nile Perch. USGS, Gainesville, FL. [Accessed Sep 16, 2014].
Rutledge, W.P. and B.W. Lyons. 1976. Texas peacock bass and Nile perch: status report (PDF | 396 KB). In: Proceedings of the Thirtieth Annual Conference Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (pp.18-23). Jackson, Miss.: Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.