Regulations on how to deal with the fish, from the Amazon region of Brazil, have been put together by the breed aquatics department of the Ministry of Agriculture.

However, these have yet to apply to the customs and foreign trade sectors.

Although the piranha has a gentle appearance, this masks a fierce nature. It is called shirenyu in Chinese, literally meaning eating-people-fish, which is also in the top of list "most dangerous aquatic species" in the Amazon.

The fish recently appeared at pet markets, where it was snapped up in cities such as Guangzhou, Nanning, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Shenyang.

However, the greatest cause for concern is in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where the situation has been followed with alarm by aquatic experts and biologists.

The fish was introduced into an ocean amusement park in Nanning about six weeks ago, as a new visitor attraction, but it also attracted the attention of aquatic experts who knows the damage that piranhas can do.

Big sales of the fish followed in several big cities, but Guangxi was the starting point.

Experts point out that as many as 1,200 cattle are killed every year in Brazil by the deadly fish.

Even children playing in the river and women washing clothes by the river are victims of the dangerous fish.

Up to now, all of the cities involved have launched campaigns to fight against the spread of and introduction of more of the fish.

According to investigation by the agricultural administration department, most of the piranha on sale in markets in several cities are from a agricultural trading market named Qingping, in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province.

Piranha flocks to their target and strip it of all its flesh in no time at all, warns Ma Weijun with the Ministry of Agriculture. How the piranha was first introduced into China and in what way it became popular in domestic markets remain unclear.

"Up to now, there are no specific guidelines dealing with who is in charge of inspecting and quarantining the fish," said Liu Qing, director of the breed aquatics department of the Ministry of Agriculture, " for a long time, there have been no relevant regulations on introducing such species, therefore, illegal introduction took place."

Fortunately, a document dealing with the introduction of non-indigenous species has been published, but only applies to the ministry's operations.

(China Daily December 17, 2002)