Ecological Risk Screening Summary - Orinoco Sailfin Catfish (Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus) - High Risk

Species that are considered high risk have a well-documented history of invasiveness in at least one location globally, and a high or medium climate match to the contiguous United States.

The history of invasiveness for Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus is high. There is a history of introductions resulting in established populations and those populations have had negative ecological and economic impacts. One study (Gestring et al. 2010) does indicate that the negative impacts to native fish may not be as great in magnitude as originally predicted in Florida, but there are documented impacts in other locations that support the classification of a high history of invasiveness. The climate match is high; the Climate 6 score is 0.148. The areas of highest match are concentrated around known established populations but there were additional areas of high match without known populations. The certainty of assessment is high. The overall risk assessment category is high.