Snakehead Fish

[tinner]

I was watching National Geographic Channel tonight and they had a show about this fish. I have never heard of it but apparently it is from Asia. Somebody caught one out of a pond in Maryland and took a picture and gave it to the conservation dept. and they sent the pic to some biologist in Florida who identified it as a snakehead fish which is a very invasive species. They can live out of the water for up to three days and have a nasty set of teeth. They were asking anybody who caught them to "bleed them out" because you can't just throw them on the bank to die, they will just wiggle back into the water over time. They said they spread into the Potomac. They also found them in California and I'm sure other places as well. In 2002 Congress passed a law making it illegal to bring into the country and transport. I guess people were releasing them after they were done with them in their aquariums. there were 2 kinds the Northern Snakehead and the Gigantic Snakehead which I believed they said can get up to 5' in length. This may have been an old rerun, but it is the first time I have saw the show or even heard about the fish and outbreak. The show kind of sensationalized the outbreak with ominous music and stuff like that but I thought it was very interesting. Has anybody else ever seen it or heard of the fish?

Tim

[brianbarker]

The Northen Snakehead is on the Missouri Department of Conservation's ANS (Aquatic Nuisance Species) list, which is species that are not in a invasive number but could cause serious problems without warning. I don't find anything about any being reported in Missouri but that doesn't mean they are not here. Here is what the MDC says about the Northen Snakehead. This Asian import is a voracious eater which has been collected in many states. Is has established breeding populations in Potomac River basin of Virginia and Maryland. All other specimens captured in the wild are thought to be individual fish released from aquaria. The snakehead has also been observed in live fish markets catering to Asian customers. Since it is a obligate air breather, the snakehead can readily survive both transport and fish market conditions. Snakeheads can spawn up to five times per year and both parents guard the nest. The snakehead can pose serious threats to native fish populations if introduced to Missouri's waters. Hope this helps. You can probably google the snakehead or search the MDC website and find more information. Be cautious with your pet fish and don't dump bait, anything to help.

[Quillback]

It's a bad fish.

[skeeter]

The reason for the "ominous music " on the National Geo program is these Snakehead fish are nothing but bad news.

If you think the Asian or Bighead Carp is a problem in our major rivers the snakehead is about 1000 times worse. All the Asian Carp eats ( we think ) is plankton and algae, the snakehead is a carnivore that is voracious for anything else that swims. They can breathe or gulp air like certain gar species and have this nasty ability to be able to cross short distances of dry land by using their pectoral fins to sort of "walk" or "slither" across the ground. If they get into our waters you can kiss your fishery good-bye as they will out-compete and out-eat anything else. The morons who released them should be prosecuted and locked up.

[taxidermist]

There was a news report a few weeks back. They found boxes being flown in from Korea. USFW found many boxes of these on a Korean Air flight. All were alive and did not need water to survive. Now found on both coast. The new show said it was expected that the fish were introduced by many of the people that bought them in the market place.

Bad deal for native fish.

[Swamper]

Snakeheads are here in Arkansas now and breeding. This is definitely not good news for the fish around here.

http://www.agfc.com/news/current-news.aspx?newsID=59

[ollie]

Geez, this really burns me up! So many people just don't care. This is defintely bad news to hear. That means they will soon be into the Ozark streams. I say catch as many as you can and kill them all! Maybe they should put a bounty on them like they did the wolves back in the days. They almost made them disappear into obscurity. I have no respect for people who turn them loose into the wild on purpose or accidently. Sorry, just needed to vent.

[gonefishin]

I say they need to start netting them along with asian carp and squeeze all the oil they can out of them. Use the oil to help alleviate the oil crunch and use the left overs for fertilizer, farmed fish food and cat food. JMHO

[skeeter]

Maybe the darn things will eat the Asian carp since they are both of Chinese origin !

Seriously, this presence in Arkansas waters is very bad news especially with all the high water.

I can't recall where I saw it but there is an experimental program to process Asian carp into some sort of animal feed. Let's all hope it works. Anyone else hear about this ?

[RiverRunner]

It looks like some idiot fish farmer is responsible for this, just like they are for the infestation of Asian Carp. When told that these fish would be outlawed, he seined his ponds and dumped them on the levee, where they no doubt escaped into Big Creek and the Lower White River drainage. Our waters on the MS river and the lower White are already in trouble due to the Asian Carp, they have wiped out numerous oxbow lakes along both rivers. Now,with these things, there is no telling the damage that will be done, especially considering the floods we are having this year.

My only hope is that the gar and grinners will give them a hard time. If I catch one, I have a seat pedestal with its name on it.