How did the snakehead fish get to Florida? In 2002, this species was discovered in a pond in Crofton, Maryland. In the United States, the snakehead was first discovered in 1977 within Silverwood Lake, California.
PATHWAYS/HISTORY: The northern snakehead is native to areas of China, Russia, and Korea. Fishery scientists have found individuals of four species in waters of California, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Snakeheads are native to parts of Asia and Africa. 6 Where was the record breaking northern snakehead shot?.5 How many species of snakeheads are there in the world?.2 How did the snakehead fish get to Florida?.In the interim, we can only fish them, eat them, and perhaps learn a lesson about the importance of keeping things in their proper place. Starlings and stinkbugs are a constant reminder that certain species, benign in their native environment, can become injurious in another habitat.Īs regards the snakeheads, the jury is still out as to how ultimately detrimental they will become. It turns out anglers actually sometimes enjoy catching these large, aggressive fighters who, because of their voracious indiscriminate appetite, will strike almost anything.Īnd they do have one daunting predator - humans.īoth sport anglers and people who enjoy snakeheads beer-battered have provided some much need constraints to its potentially explosive growth.Įcological imperialism had been around as long as humans have moved around the world with their domesticated animals, plants, weeds, germs and invasives. Two decades after their discovery, luckily we have not yet suffered a fish apocalypse. Unlike many fish, snakeheads spawn often and behave like tiger moms when it comes to protecting their eggs and young.Įarly reports warned these well-adapted fish would overtake waterways and decimate our streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. It can even wiggle and hop a bit on land, breathing air and moving like a slow, clumsy snake. The snakehead breathes air and can live outside of water. It also had a relatively scary introduction to its new American neighbors. More Mark: Harriet Tubman and the first Freedom Convoy
According to the Lacey Act, the Northern Snakehead is listed as an injurious species - meaning it cannot be possessed or transported live.ĭon't miss: A quarter-century of conservation: The NCTC turns 25 Ever since Genesis, snakes have gotten a bad rap amongst humans, and almost certainly something called, say, the “kittenish” would be less scary. The name "snakehead" is probably a good starting point. Why does the snakehead, another edible game fish, have such a bad reputation? Yet the presence of these non-native, introduced species causes far less concern than our most recent invader, first discovered two decades ago in Crofton, Md. Many of the local fish caught today were introduced species like smallmouth bass (est. These original anglers caught eel, suckers, channel catfish and crappies. The remains of 1200 year-old stone fish traps can still be seen in this area. Native Americans fished this stretch of water for thousands of years. This large, reputedly tasty, aggressive predator is the latest in a long line of invasive fish in this stretch of the Potomac since Europeans first arrived in the region. Now snakeheads have been an unwelcome inhabitant of the Potomac since 2002, but they have not come this close to Hagerstown (or my favorite fishing spot) previously. We have a new - and unwelcome - resident in our stretch of the Potomac River: the Northern Snakehead caught at Dam #4 on June 10 near Scrabble, W.Va. A place for everything, everything in its place.
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