Watch: Fish ‘walks’ out of water and survives in land

QUEENSLAND, Australia – Locals are surprised to find an aggressive foreign fish, who is capable of “walking” out of water and survives in land using its lungs to breath, as reported byThe Sydney Morning Herald.

The fish, identified as the climbing perch, is capable of moving across dry land and can choke birds and other fish if eaten. The fish is threatening to make its way onto Australian soil, all the way from Papua New Guinea.

Researchers and wildlife rangers now monitors the climbing perch, as they already overrun waterways on two Queensland islands in the Torres Strait, Australia.

The deadly climbing perch, which is originally a freshwater fish, can survive in salty water and can last several days on land by using lungs to breathe.

Nathan Waltham, a scientist from James Cook University, explained that aside from being aggressive, birds or other fish that ate them could die.

“Their gill covers, they can flex them out and get caught in the throats of fish and birds, so that leads to the animal dying,” Waltham said.

Photo Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald

Waltham warned that if the climbing perch were not managed in the Torres Strait, the species could make its way to the northern Australia mainland.

“We’ve only found them on Boigu and Saibai islands, so these are the islands that are closest to Papua New Guinea. They haven’t been recorded any further south but the threat is if they aren’t managed … then they actually may move through the Torres Strait and move into northern Australia,” Waltham explained.

Meanwhile, Damien Burrows, the director of Trop Water at James Cook University, said that it is possible that the climbing perch survive a trip from the Torres Strait on the bottom of a fishing boat, ABC Online reported.

“Anecdotes are that they are carried between villages on various islands. So a trip in a boat across the Torres Strait is not out of the question,” Burrows narrated.

Burrows also warned that if the fish were not managed effectively, then the door would be left open for other fish to follow.

“It’s a bit of a melting pot, there are some pretty nasty exotic fishes,” Burrows added.

The research team extended the education of fishermen from Torres Strait about how to identify the fish; asking them to throw the fish away before coming to mainland Australia.

Authorities from Fisheries Queensland said in a statement that there are no received reports of the fish moving from the Torres Strait.

“There is no viable means of eradicating the fish from these islands and an awareness campaign was conducted with island communities to help prevent any further dispersal of these exotic fish,” a spokeswoman said.

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