Imminent threat of the predator fish invasion Salminus brasiliensis in a Neotropical ecoregion: eco-vandalism masked as an environmental project

•We present the “Iguaçu Dourado” Project, which proposes a misleading development of sport fishing in the Iguaçu River basin.•We identified specimens of Salminus brasiliensis collected in the Iguaçu River basin from 2008. Sport fishing is an activity responsible for moving millions of dollars around the world. However, this activity is also considered to cause habitat degradation and promoting several negative effects on the ichthyofauna. The ``Iguaçu Dourado'' project, presented here, seeks to intensify the potential of sport fishing in the Iguaçu River Basin. Although not explicit, the project intends to introduce Dourado (Salminus brasiliensis), as well as to encourage sport fishing of the species in the Iguaçu River Basin. Twenty specimens were captured in the Salto Santiago and Salto Osório reservoirs from 2003 to 2016, thus indicating that the invasion of S. brasiliensis can be successful and extremely harmful to the endemic fauna of the basin. We believe that the so-called project is characterized by an attitude of eco-vandalism, promoting the illegal release of species outside its area of occurrence. Awareness-raising measures as well as educational programs should be addressed so that the population can be informed about the issue of invasion of non-native species.