Ecological Risk Screening Summary - Snakeskin Gourami (Trichopodus pectoralis) - Uncertain Risk

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.

Snakeskin Gourami (Trichopodus pectoralis) is native to Southeast Asia. T. pectoralis is used for subsistence fishing, small scale commercial fishing, aquaculture, pest control, and for the aquarium trade. It has been introduced and established in much of Southeast Asia outside its native range, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, New Caledonia, and Colombia. It has also been introduced to Hong Kong, India, and Japan but failed to establish. It also been introduced to Bangladesh and Haiti but the species’ status in those countries is unknown. Virtually all introductions were the result of intentional stocking, starting as early as the 1930s, for fisheries and pest control. It has been banned in Brazil. Information on impacts is mixed and not of sufficiently high quality for high confidence. There are reports of T. pectoralis displacing native species in Malaysia and lowering diversity indices in portions of the river where present (with another non-native species) in Papua New Guinea. However, other systems with non-native T. pectoralis reported little to no observed ecological impacts from this fish. A beneficial economic impact from use of this species in fisheries is reported in several countries. Based on the lack of high quality studies documenting impact or lack thereof, history of invasiveness is none documented. The climate match for the contiguous United States was low; only southeast Texas and southern Florida had a medium match. The certainty of the assessment is low due to quality of information on impacts. The overall risk assessment is uncertain.