There was great concern that these fish because of their curiosity value may have been transported across to Seisia on the Australian mainland. Fortunately,after an intensive eletrofishing search by Coulton Perna and Damian Burrows from the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, no trace of this invasive species was found. Anabas is considered to be a far greater risk to Australian native fish and our waterways than either Carp or Talapia.
The climbing perch (Anabas testudineus ) was first described by the Dutch naturalist Daldorff on an Indian expedition in 1791, he discovered the fish in some water on a palm tree supposedly one half meters above ground level. Apparently they are found occasionally on vegetation but its thought they are most likely carried there by some bird or animal.
Using their well developed stiff spines and gill plates as supports, they can in fact travel very well over dry land from one body of water to another and their ability to breathe air allows them to remain out of water for up to two days. They were first noticed on Saibai island in early 2008 by a pilot who found the the fish walking across the airstrip.The first Investigations by Burrows and Perna confirmed that the fish were well established and eradication was probably impossible. As the fish cannot survive in salt water they would have to be carried to the mainland by air or sea. Extreme vigilance by everybody is required to prevent this noxious fish from gaining a foothold on the mainland.
