sports

Dinner from Gatun Lake

Mike Horrell displays one of the sargentos (peacock bass) that he caught in Gatun Lake in a recent outing near La Arenosa. These bass, of Venezuelan origin, are an invasive species, descended from fish that were accidentally released into the lake several decades ago --- someone had a pond near the Chagres River stocked with them, and a flood washed them into the river and lake system upon which the Panama Canal is built.

The peacock bass rapidly displaced snook and other species, altering an existing sports fishery. They, in turn, may well be displaced by more recent invaders, including African tilapia, Asian grass carp and several others --- or they may hold onto different aquatic niches from the newcomers and co-exist with them.

A lot of people like to catch and eat the sargentos, generally angling for them in parts of the lake well away from the ship channel, where Panama Canal security people discourage pleasure craft. La Arenosa is one of several places where Gatun Lake sports fishing provides a living for several local residents. You can frequently buy peacock bass on the bridge where the Transistmica crosses the Chagres River, but as a commercial fishery this species is of relatively minor importance.

Photo courtesy of Mike Horrell