'Piranha' found dead in River Ness at Inverness

Ness Fishery Board director Chris Conroy with the fish

What is thought to be a piranha or a close relative of the fish has been found dead in the River Ness at Inverness.

The discovery by Ness District Fishery Board followed an angler coming across two Central American species of fish in the river.

The board said the fish found on Tuesday could be a piranha or a silver dollar, a relative of piranha and pacu.

The other exotic fish found were thought to be Jaguar cichlids.

It is suspected the fish were kept as pets before being dumped. The warm water species would not have survived long in the Ness.

But the fishery board said the fish could have had diseases or parasites that posed a risk to native fish.

Two cichlids were found by an angler earlier

Two cichlids were found by a member of Inverness Angling Club, and a third by the fishery board after director Chris Conroy and a colleague investigated whether other exotic fish had been dumped.

The fish found on Tuesday was dead

Mr Conroy said: "Any release of non-native species into the wild is extremely irresponsible and could have significant negative impacts on our native fish stocks.

"The species found to date are all native to a warm climate and so had little to no chance of surviving in the cold waters of the River Ness. They could however pose a significant disease risk."

The River Ness flows from Loch Ness to the sea at Inverness.

The Ness river system's native species include salmon, trout and European eels, a creature suggested to be behind the legend of the Loch Ness Monster.