Caution: Catfish on ramp!
September 10, 2012 by Thomas A. Horne, Editor At LargeI had just landed at the Vero Beach, Florida airport and was cleared to taxi to Paris Air’s ramp at the east end of the field. It rained heavily the day before, and off and on for several hours before my arrival. The rain was heavy. So heavy that the airport’s storm drains–grass swales, really–filled to the brim. I came down the taxiway paralleling Paris Air’s ramp, hung a right, and–hey, what’s that? One, two, three black, curved shapes flopping around on the ramp.
Catfish taxiing at VRB
Yep, catfish. They had apparently washed out of the swales and were now trying to walk–er, flop–somewhere. It was a first for me! After taking a picture I went to check on them again but they were gone. A Paris Air employee snatched them, ostensibly to put in a pond at his home. That, or perhaps there was catfish for dinner that night!
September 23rd, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Looks like a “walking Catfish” to me. It’s an invasive species from Southeast Asia that is well established in Florida. They can “walk” on their fins across land to other areas to find food, surviving for as long as they remain moist. They are voracious eaters, causing lots of damage to native species.