WOODBURY HEIGHTS — Virginia Dredden has always been a better fisherman than her son, Ronald Meekins.

So when she cast her line into Glen Lake Monday afternoon and quickly caught a fish, Meekins wasn’t surprised.

Until he realized it was a piranha.

The sharp-toothed freshwater fish normally found in the rivers of South America — or aquariums — was definitely a long way from home.

Meekins, of Deptford, said his mother was visiting from Dover, Del., when it happened. Two local kids who were fishing next to them saw Dredden pull the fish up on her pole and knew right away what it was.

“One of the kids says, ‘It’s a piranha!’ and sure enough it looked like a piranha,” Meekins said.

To be sure, he took a picture on his cell phone and compared it to a photo he found online. Then, he sent the photo to someone at the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, who confirmed it.

Meekins also called borough hall to notify officials, and within a half hour of pulling the fish on land, the police came out to retrieve it.

“They came out and they were blown away by the fact there was a piranha in the lake,” Meekins said.

Police now have it on ice.

“It's unusual, to say the least,” said Woodbury Heights Mayor Harry W. Elton Jr.

The mayor said his first concern was whether the town should put out a warning, but said he was told “these things happen all the time” by someone from Fish and Wildlife.

“I was worried about kids putting their feet in the lake,” said Elton, but Fish and Wildlife assured him the lake would be safe.

Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which includes Fish and Wildlife, agreed.

“This happens from time to time,” Hajna said. “People buy the piranhas and keep it in a home aquarium and they get tired of it and they think they can release it in the wild.”

Well, they’re not supposed to. In a 2002 memo, the Fish and Wildlife Division advises against releasing exotic fish into state waters.

“In certain instances, species may pose a public safety threat, such as piranhas and freshwater stingrays,” the division advisory said. “Released species can also carry and spread diseases that our native fish stocks are unable to fight.”

Even if an exotic fish like a piranha is found in local fresh water, it’s unlikely it would survive the state’s cold winters, Hajna said.

And despite portrayals of the omnivorous fish devouring flesh in a matter of minutes, Hajna said the public shouldn’t fear for its safety — unless you’re a minnow.

“Contrary to belief, they’re not mass eaters of flesh,” Hajna said. “They will prey on things that are smaller than themselves. If you’re a minnow, you’ve got concerns. Otherwise, you’re OK.”