Walking cat fish on the move across Bay area

Pinellas Park, Florida -- Residents in the Vindome Village neighborhood of Pinellas Park say they couldn’t believe their eyes Wednesday when a school of 12” catfish were spotted walking down their street.

The “walking catfish” as they’re called are a non native species from Asia, now common in many Florida bodies of fresh water south of Ocala.

An expert with the University of Florida’s Tropical Agriculture Laboratory in Ruskin say the fish were first imported into the United States in the 50’s and 60’s as pets and were then introduced into the wild.

A federal ban was then placed on the species because little was known years ago about their potential impact on the environment.

Experts now say their impact on the environment is limited.