Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.
Gourami (Osphronemus goramy) is a tropical freshwater fish native to Southeast Asia. There is some discrepancy about whether O. goramy is native to the Mekong Basin; some reports in this area may be due to misidentification of O. exodon. O. goramy are facultative air breathers which allows them to live in poor quality waterways. This species is common in aquaculture and commercial fisheries due its popularity as a food fish. The history of invasiveness for O. goramy is Data Deficient. O. goramy has been introduced and became established in India, Colombia, New Caledonia, Mauritius, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, and Papua New Guinea. The introductions were mostly caused by aquaculture and aquarium releases. O. goramy has also been introduced in four U.S. States but none of the introductions resulted in an established population. No detailed information on negative impacts of their introduction has been found, although some have suggested possible “ecological effects” or competition for habitat and food sources with native species. The overall climate match with the contiguous United States is low. Areas along the Gulf Coast had medium matches and a small portion of southern Florida had a high match. Certainty of assessment is low. The overall risk assessment category for Osphronemus goramy is uncertain.
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Uncertain Risk
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