Fisherman's unusual find in Western Maryland waters

A fisherman's unusual find in the waters of Western Maryland.

On September 26 Jeremy Cooper was out fishing in the Conococheague Creek at Kemps Mill.

He caught what initially was thought to be a sunfish.

But Cooper soon realized this fish had human-like teeth resembling a piranha.

So he sent some photos to Maryland's Department of Natural Resources.

Experts there identified the fish as a pacu, a species closely related to the piranha.

Mainly based out of South America, the pacu is generally vegetarian, unlike piranha which are known sometimes to be carnivorous.

While popular for personal aquariums, the pacu isn't common in Maryland waterways.

In fact prior to September's sighting, only seven have been spotted in the state since 1995, the last being 2006 in the Gunpowder River.

"The fish was most likely released from someone's aquarium," the Department of Natural Resources tells WMAR-2 News. "We never encourage people to release their pets to Maryland's waters because of the threat of introducing a species that could establish itself or the threat of introducing disease."

Experts say the pacu is unlikely to survive or reproduce in Maryland's type of underwater environment.