How do some non-native fishes help us?

Poster presented May 1999, at the South Florida Restoration Science Forum

Butterfly peacock fish

The most popular gamefish in southeast Florida canals is the butterfly peacock. Most people who have an interest in freshwater fishing have heard of this fish, although they may be unaware that the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is responsible for this fabulous fishery. The butterfly peacock is a tropical fish from South America and it cannot survive in water temperatures below 60 degrees F. Thus, the distribution of this fish is mostly limited to the manmade canals in the metropolitan Miami to West Palm Beach area.

After years of study, scientists at the Non-Native Fish Research proposed, received approval, and effectuated the introduction of the butterfly peacock which has since helped reduce the number of undesirable exotic fishes. Furthermore, the butterfly peacock now provides millions of hours of fishing pleasure for thousands of anglers who spend more than $8 million annually to catch this fish. Although introductions of exotic species is never a panacea, this introduction has had significant benefits.

Related Links

• Florida Non-Native Fisheries Laboratory
  The Non-Native Fish Research Lab is responsible for the peacock bass fishery in south Florida and conducts research on the impacts of non-native fishes such as tilapia, Mayan cichlids, walking catfish and rice eels on Florida's ecosystems.

  The lab also houses an education project, which focuses on the Miami-Dade area, with special emphasis on the hispanic-speaking community.

  Twenty-eight exotic fishes (= fishes from other countries) are reproducing in Florida's freshwater lakes, rivers, and canals, and 21 of these are considered to be permanent residents, some of which have been here for many years. As a result of the damage these fishes could do to native fishes, the Commission developed several programs to prevent additional releases of exotic fishes, while also assessing and managing those exotics that have already become established. The objectives of the Non-Native Fish Research Project are to document the occurrence and distribution of exotic fishes in Florida; assess their life histories, environmental limiting factors, and interactions with native fishes; develop new management strategies that incorporate these species and, consider purposeful introductions as a means of improving previously disturbed fish communities.

• Learn more about the butterfly peacock fish from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• Florida Freshwater Fishing from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• Division of Freshwater Fisheries, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
• Prevention is the Best Cure When it Comes to Florida's Aquatic Aliens, April 5, 1999
• Florida's Freshwater Fisheries--A SOUTH AMERICAN FISHING TRIP WITHIN FLORIDA - the butterfly peacock (Cichla ocellaris) has adapted well to its new environment.
• Other fisheries publications

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