Boy, 8, Reels In a Piranha at Pennsylvania Lake

RIDLEY PARK, Pa. — An 8-year-old boy's unexpected catch at a lake near Philadelphia has renewed attention to the illegal release of exotic pets into local waterways.

Seamus Coffey was on a Saturday morning fishing trip when he felt something heavy on his line. "I'm reeling it in, and I think there's a bass," he said.

His father, Michael Coffey, said he told his son to take it slow. "I was like, 'Slow down dude, you might lose it.' This looks like something we haven't caught before."

Neither expected what came out of the water. "I was like, 'Oh, this is a bluegill, I don't know what this is,'" Michael recalled. "And he said, 'It's a piranha!'"

Asked how he knew, Seamus had a simple answer: "Because I watch YouTube!"

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission later backed him up. "Our biologists have confirmed that this is some species of piranha," said Mike Parker, a spokesperson for the agency.

Parker said the presence of a tropical fish native to South America in a Pennsylvania lake points to a broader problem: owners abandoning exotic animals they can no longer keep.

"I think a lot of times people do, you know, they have a dream: I want to own an exotic fish or a snake or an alligator, and it's cute when it's small," he said. "But maybe they can't afford that or house it anymore, and they decide maybe this is someone else's problem."

The fish would not have survived long in Pennsylvania waters, Parker said, being far from its natural habitat and likely unaccustomed to surviving in the wild after life as a pet.

Michael Coffey said the family disposed of the fish humanely. Parker said that was the right call, noting the piranha posed a danger to the public and could have disrupted the local ecosystem.

Releasing exotic species into Pennsylvania waters is against the law, Parker said. "Even if the law says that you're allowed to own an exotic pet, whether that be a fish or a reptile, you're not allowed to introduce that species into the wilds of Pennsylvania. So that is unlawful. You can be fined, prosecuted."

Seamus said he was not scared of the razor-toothed fish, and his priorities have not changed. "Fishing is my favorite thing," he said.

Parker said it is unlikely other piranhas are in the lake, but asked anyone who sees or catches one to report it to the commission.