DENR, BFAR set to file raps vs piranha trader

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) are poised to file criminal charges against a trader found in possession of a 40 live piranhas.

DENR Undersecretary Roy Kyamko, deputy head of the National Anti-Environment Crime Task Force (NAECTF) said businessman Leonardo Marcelino will be charged with violation of laws on wildlife following the confiscation of the banned species of fish from his house in Quezon City.

"Our team acted on the instruction of Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes after receiving information from a resident of Barangay Loyola Heights in Quezon City about the trading of piranha in the area," Kyamko said.

Piranhas are freshwater fish that can easily adapt to new environments even after confinement under aquarium conditions, the DENR said.

Piranhas have lacerating teeth that are strongly set on well-developed mandibles, which they used to rip the flesh from their prey. 

Kyamko said Marcelino violated Republic Act 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, and Republic Act 8550, the Philippine Fisheries Code.

The BFAR has banned the importation of piranha to the Philippines.

Reyes ordered the turnover of the confiscated fish to BFAR.

"We are strictly monitoring the trade and transport of wildlife in and out of the country," the DENR chief said.