Men who caught, ate alligator gar from Taipei park to be fined

Taipei, May 26 (CNA) Two young anglers who caught an alligator gar in Taipei's 228 Memorial Park, ate it and then posted about it online -- only to face public ire and apologize -- will be fined, the Taipei City government said Tuesday.

The incident came to light when the Facebook page for the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) fishing club in Tainan posted a photo of two men holding a meter-long fish identified as an alligator gar.

The post, which tagged accounts appearing to belong to the two men, surnamed Chiang (姜) and Chen (陳), said the fish was invasive, and that by removing it they were doing their part to "help native species."

It also contained a video of the two men filleting the alligator gar in the kitchen of a "hot fry" restaurant, and then displaying several dishes apparently cooked from the fish to eat.

The post, however, drew a torrent of angry responses, with several users noting that fishing at the park is illegal, and that the fish was well-known to park visitors, having been there for over 20 years.

On Monday, the group's administrator removed the post and issued an apology, saying the authors had accessed the account and made the post without their permission.

The apology said neither of the two men was a current member of the fishing club, as Chiang had no connection to NCKU and Chen had already graduated.

The administrator added that they had spoken to Chen and he was "very sorry" for his poor judgement.

Meanwhile, the Taipei City Park and Streetlights Office said Tuesday that the men would be fined NT$3,600 (US$114.28) each for illegal fishing.

Native to the southern United States and Mexico, alligator gar are one of the world's oldest fish species, and can grow to over 2 meters and 45 kilograms.