Florida Fish First

Florida can add the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to its list of fish introduced to the wild, according to this report from the ANS Alert System. A specimen was caught this April near Cape Canaveral - the first official record of the escape of the African species in the state of Florida (though this web page and others refer to a population potentially residing in Lake Seminole). This is also the first time the Nile tilapia has been seen outside of captivity in the Southeast U.S. since a 2000 sighting in Mississippi. The cause of its introduction is listed as "released" (most likely from a fish farm).