The Top Fishing
Chapter 768 - 320: Invasive Species

Chapter 768: Chapter 320: Invasive Species

"I think I recognize this, it’s the Crocodile Sparrowfish, another invasive species!"

"Exactly, it’s the Crocodile Sparrowfish. At the company I used to work for, the boss kept two of these fish; they were particularly ferocious!"

In the discussion among netizens, they also figured out what kind of fish this was.

The Crocodile Sparrowfish is an invasive species, and it’s also one of those that destroy the local ecology.

At this moment, there was a wave of sighs.

"Our country really has too many invasive species."

"You’re right, just now the African catfish, now the Crocodile Sparrowfish, both belong to the top of the food chain as invasive species, basically having no natural predators in our waters."

"Not just lacking predators, they virtually have no rivals!"

"Yes, the scales of the Crocodile Sparrowfish are extremely hard. It’s said that even chopping with a knife might not break through them, let alone other aquatic animals—that’s simply terrifying!"

"It’s unexpected that such a nice place as Qianxia Lake has so many invasive species, thanks to its rich fishing resources and the many varieties of fish in its waters. Otherwise, with the Crocodile Sparrowfish and the big African catfish, the local fish would have been wiped out long ago."

"Master Lin caught two of these invasive species in a row, which is also a way of eliminating harm for Qianxia Lake."

In the sighs of the netizens, Lin Yang quickly pulled this Crocodile Sparrowfish ashore.

This Crocodile Sparrowfish was slightly smaller than the African catfish just now, appearing more elongated overall, and its sharp mouth was filled with visibly sharp teeth, like vertical little daggers. Its colorful scales looked quite dazzling.

But in fact, this was a set of extremely robust armor, just like what the netizen had said, even if chopped with a knife it might not be possible to break through these scales.

So, in our country’s waters, the Crocodile Sparrowfish was virtually unbeatable, only large carnivorous fish like the pike could possibly compete with it, but generally, they avoided each other.

Unless it is a large fish overpowering a small one by size, these top predators seldom face off directly because it would only result in both parties getting injured.

Looking at this giant Crocodile Sparrowfish, everyone sighed again.

Most people were complaining about how many invasive species there were in the waters of Qianxia Lake, concluding that some people do bad things with good intentions!

These invasive species were mostly due to those so-called ’kind-hearted people’ releasing them.

The trend of releasing animals to earn merit has been quite popular over these years, especially among some religious people, thinking that releasing small creatures accrues good karma and merits for themselves.

But in fact, many of these people lack basic common sense.

For instance, they release species that are not suitable for release, or they release them into inappropriate environments.

As a result, far from creating merit, they are actually committing sins!

If lighter, the consequence is that the released fish cannot adapt to the local water bodies, turning the supposed act of release into killing; often, the fish are released and die shortly after, not only failing to save lives but instead hastening their death.

There was once a person who even filmed a release video. In the video, she released a fish into the river, but the fish kept jumping out of the water after entering.

She added captions in the video: ’Releasing earns merit, the fish knows gratitude, leaping out of the water to bid me farewell with reluctance.’

However, later, attentive netizens exposed her, revealing that the fish she released was actually a saltwater fish that had been put into a freshwater river, so the fish was in great pain after entering the water, continuously jumping out, not from gratitude and reluctance as she claimed, but from unbearable agony!

As one can imagine, the fish died in pain after suffering a lot, yet it was posted online as if she were a benefactor, feeling self-congratulatory for a long while.

There is another type of release, and its consequences are even more severe.

That is releasing invasive species, like the African catfish and the Alligator Gar that Lin Yang caught today, which belong to the most extreme cases of release.

Once such fish enter our local waters, they are simply a disaster.

Both of the fish Lin Yang caught today weighed over 100 pounds; it’s unknown how many local fish they have consumed—such actions are not releasing life but orchestrating slaughter.

These people think they are accumulating merit, but if there really is such a thing as karmic retribution, these people would all end up in hell due to these so-called releases.

Besides this lament, the netizens felt even more sympathy for Lin Yang.

"Master Lin has already caught two fish weighing over 100 pounds, but it’s a pity they aren’t the target fish. It seems that in Qianxia Lake, the pike isn’t the only ruler after all; instead, these invasive species have taken over half the territory."

"It’s really a pity. If all three were pike, Master Lin would have been the undisputed champion by now, even though he is still ranked first with that one fish."

"Let’s see if Master Lin can keep landing big fish in his next efforts, hopefully the Big Eel. The others need to step up their game too!"

"Exactly, it’s only interesting when there’s competition in the tournament."

After Lin Yang pulled this Alligator Gar ashore, it received the same treatment as the African catfish before it, just left to struggle on the bank. For dealing with such invasive species, there’s no need for pity.

He then continued with the same old tactics, still using his skill to observe the situation of the fish, searching for the whereabouts of big fish.