Plecos --- Boon or Bane?

[mokmu]

I have been a pleco fanatic ever since they came into our shores back in the early 80s. I never knew just how much problems these would cause for the local fish industry in the country. The aquarium trade has grown in the last 10 years or so. This demand brought about by better distribution methods, better transportation, better communication and better technology in general. Well, it seems that even with all this technology, people still lack the knowledge and understand of how the environment works. Well either that or they just don't care.

Background
In the last few years, people have been keeping and growing out the ever popular pleco. Once they get too big for the aquarium, they send them off --- to the river. Some enterprising individuals have begun breeding these fish in fish farms. Funny thing is, they forgot to put back-ups in place in case problems like storms and over flows occur. A lot of these fish have leaked out into again our local rivers and lakes.

Damage Done
These fish originally from South America has already taken our lakes as their home. They grow to be almost a meter long and breed like wildfire. They have destroyed the local commercial fishing industry. I don't really know how. It seems like they have been winning the battle for more food in our lakes or have been eating other fishes' eggs. We used to have a lot of milkfish, tilapia and catfish (still don't know the kind --- called "kanduli" in our local markets). Now every haul in nets contain more plecos than our usual fish populace. We don't know what to do anymore. More and more fishermen are just giving up fishing altogether since plecos because of their tough outershell destroy their nets. It is so terrible to see. Cities here depend on our local fish industry. Without it a lot of our fish supply (albeit food supply) is affected.

Adapting
We are slowly trying to adapt to this menace. There are different ways just to help balance and lessen their numbers. The first, every time fishermen get these animals in their nets, they throw them away. We have hills made of pleco carcass which we allow to dry before we bury them. Second, they have been re-exporting them back to aquariums. Third, we have been trying to find ways to actually cook and eat the fish. It is still in the study phase. So far, the meat with coconut milk and chillies have been received with some success for drunkards and vagrants. Lastly, we are finding ways to make use of their tough outer skin much like alligator or snake skin. An after effect. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has put a ban on importing exotic plecos. Most of what I get are actually smuggled in or people are paid off at customs to allow them in (definitely a source of corruption in a third world country like ours)

I just don't know how long the battle will last but I hope it doesn't take too long. I hate to see our lakes with just plecos to see. And I am not ready to partake of pleco meat just yet.

Regards,
Mike D.

PS. Any ideas on how to help?

[Shane]

Mike,
In most of the areas where Loricariids have been introduced, they have been found to have a very low impact on the environment. The fact is that they are not predators and inhabit a niche open in many systems. I wonder how much of the cause for decreasing fish catches is actually due to over fishing and pollution and is being blamed on the loricariids?
I am also surprised that they are not eaten. The large loricariids are a major food source in South America and probably the most common staple fish eaten by locals in the Amazon. Country folk and Indians just roast them over an open fire, crack them open and eat them. Even in the cities Sancocho de Corroncho (Pleco soup) is popular. Just make a stew with pleco meat, yuca chunks and some onions. You can flavor it with some garlic salt too. It is then served with half a fresh lime that is squeezed into the hot stew when it is served. This same soup is also made using whole Pimelodella as well in the Magdalena and using Callichthys in the Orinoco.
My guess is that even though they are not a popular food fish now, in 10-15 years there will be several "traditional" Philipine pleco dishes
-Shane

[Silurus]

The intorduced fishes you should be worrying about are not plecos, butClarias gariepinus, Cyprinus carpio and Glossogobius giuris. The last two species have almost extirpated the endemic cyprinids of Lake Lanao.

[mokmu]

I think so too Shane. I may try my hand in creating a truly Filipino culinary pleco delight one day. Not just now. The Philipines is not just ready for it just yet.

I still don't know how they actually destroy the fishing industry in the lakes and rivers. It may very well be just the pollution as you mentioned. We have seen a lot of cases of fish kill in the recent years --- even before the pleco problem. You know how it is everywhere. People react at everything they see without looking at the cause. In this case, WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) is their reaction.

Thanks for your insight, Shane. I was hoping you would react to it.

Regards,
Mike D.

[mokmu]

You have to understand that there is already a "shortage" of food in the Philippines. At least the clarias specie, we are used to. We have farms for them, as well as for the pangasius (called freshwater hammerhead in aquarium parlance or mekong kanduli in the culinary vernacular) and the arius manilensis (the kanduli mentioned in the first post). We also have our local milkfish called the Bangus (Chanos Chanos Forsskal). The bangus is on of the biggest fish farm industries in the country today.

Unfortunately the pleco is not as easy to prepare. Charring of the skin has to be done first before actual cooking because of the tough hide/skin. The others are a breeze to prepare. We have had overflows of clarias ponds before but it seems people just snap them up as immediate food source. Even kids get into the act of catching them and selling them right on the street.

Regards,
Mike D.

PS In my opinion there isn't really a food shortage. There is just an abundance of people living below the poverty line. Reports have it now at 80% of the Philippine population..

Regards,
Mike D.

[Shane]

Unfortunately the pl*co is not as easy to prepare. Charring of the skin has to be done first before actual cooking because of the tough hide/skin.[/i]

What? Easiest fish in the world to cook. You do not even need to clean it. Just cook them up, crack them open, and enjoy. Everything inside is edible and if you get a gravid female, you get the bonus eggs which are considered a delicacy here. Eggs are also collected by the handful from their spawning holes in the river banks for consumption. Amazon Caviar!
Sounds more like a Filipino cultural hang up (not that we do not have our own )
-Shane



Caviar.



A good Pleco day's fishing. This kid will make a fortune when he gets these fish to Leticia.

[mokmu]

Yup, that's exactly what I said. Filipinos are still not in the loop just yet. To the general populace this fish is the "janitor fish" (eats poop and algae). You can probably call them the garbage guys. And, if you can see how garbage is handled here in the country and then think about eating the lowly plec then you know what I mean. Maybe in time. Besides, fish skin is often eaten here together with the fish. If the skin is tough then the most likely chance is that they will get turned off and try other fish instead.

Have you tried them yet? If they are anything like most cats that I've eaten then their flesh must be really soft. I have noticed that practically all the cats that I've tasted have very soft and tender flesh. Let me know how they are but for the meantime, I shall have to pass.

It is really difficult to force or adopt someone else's culture unto another society. It may be a normal occurence there in South America specially along the river banks but certainly not here. We can actually try to teach the culture of eating dog to the rest of the world but I'm sure that it will not be as easily acceptable. Mind you this habit is not as easily seen here in and around the country but it does happen. There is a law against eating dog here but which some drunkards or vagrants of the C and D socio-economic segment will easily do especially at night when there are stray dogs about. Probably this is being done because they don't have enough money to buy bar chow. I have had first hand experience once or twice before. There is nothing really great about it but a certain texture and internal "heat" to it. Snake and lizard, on the other hand, is a different story. They both taste like chicken. I've had snake fried but, let me tell you, they have an awful lot of bones. The lizard or "bayawak" here is much like the iguana but a bit larger and a bit smaller than a monitor lizard (around a meter in length). So far, I've tasted stewed bayawak or our local a coq a vain or "cocavan" (darn my french in bad)? Snake and lizard eating often happen in the country side and parts of Chinatown. Dog happens when it does and the dog is unlucky. I have most likely lost my German Shepherd to them 20 years back.


Regards,
Mike D.

Shane, nice photos. The photo of the boat with lots of plecs look exactly like the ones here.