Man-Eating fish plague China

The five-day hunt for piranhas will end Friday evening, according to authorities in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.Liao Bangzhu, the fisherman who has hunted for piranhas for three days, found nothing in his fishing net due to the strong wind on the river.

Many fishing boats have been dispatched looking for piranhas; however, no signs of the carnivorous fish have been found in the river."Considering the hunt for the carnivorous fish has led to catching many local fish, in order to protect local fishery resources, the authority will end the hunt for piranhas at 18:00 on Friday.

The promise of offering 1,000 yuan (157 US dollars) to local residents for every confirmed piranha kill will also end at the same time," said Wei Yongwen, head of the city's fishery and animal husbandry bureau.The offering of reward has aroused disputes on the internet as many are worried that some people may get the fish inappropriately for the money.

However, the authorities said that they would keep an eye on the hunt for piranhas.All local fish caught by fishing boats have been released back into the river.Three piranhas attacked two people as they were swimming in the Liujiang River over the weekend. One of the victims, surnamed Zhang, had parts of his finger bitten off by the fish.

AP