Northern Snakehead
A friend of mine stopped by last night who lives in the northern part of West Virginia in the Elkins area. We were bs’ing and he asked me if I had heard about the Northern Snakehead. First thing out of my mouth – what the hell is that? Turns out – it’s a fish, but definitely not your garden variety.
¨ As a family, snakeheads are native to parts of Asia and Africa. The northern snakehead is native to China, and possibly Korea and Russia.
¨ Typically found in a wide variety of habitats.
¨ Northern snakeheads grow to a maximum length of about 33 inches.
¨ Generally tan in appearance, with dark brown mottling; body somewhat elongated; long dorsal fin; jaws contain numerous canine-like teeth (similar to pike or pickerel).
¨ Capable of breathing air using an air bladder that works as a primitive lung (not found in most fish).
Photo from – USGS
When I first started reading about this fish it was from the original introduction of this invasive species to a pond in Maryland. The story begins somewhere around 2000. The next chapter I read on a different website from 2004 and the snakehead had moved from the pond to the Potomac.
And this week, another northern snakehead fish was caught May 12 near Marshall Hall on the Potomac River. This fish, an immature female hatched in 2003, is approximately the same size as the northern snakehead caught May 7.
It is unlikely that only two Northern Snakehead fish are in the Potomac. In order to assess just how many are out there, and the corresponding threat to the ecosystem, DNR will be posting signs around the Potomac River in marinas instructing anglers who catch Northern Snakehead fish to kill these fish, keep them, and notify DNR immediately at 410-260-8320, or toll-free at 1-877-520-8DNR, ext. 8230 or via e-mail: customerservice@dnr.state.md.us
The most recent story I could find comes from North Carolina, 2007.
The fish reportedly caught from the upper Catawba River arm of Lake Wylie on May 13 was recently confirmed as a northern snakehead (Channa argus), a highly predatory, invasive species.
Biologists with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and United States Geological Survey identified the fish from a photograph submitted by an angler who said he caught the fish near Belmont. The angler mistakenly thought the snakehead was a bowfin and released it back into the river.
Questions and Answers about the Northern Snakehead Fish
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This post is for all you anglers out there. If you are fishing, apparently anywhere up and down the east coast, be careful of sticking your fingers in a strange fish’s mouth – there may be more than your hook in there.
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If you do happen to catch one of these nasty critters, multi-state DNR’s are asking they NOT be released back into the waters but should be killed, saved, and reported immediately to the USGS or your state DNR.
Great post… Wish I had thought about this 1. Very invasive species indeed. Have never seen 1 and hope not to. These things will decimate a lake of its native fish, and with that air bladder, they can crawl on to the next place… Not sure how far tho..
You should go ahead and write a post about it – I’m sure your readers would be informed.
I’ve read about the crawling to – thats how they got out of the pond in Maryland by moving to the next pond and so on – at least that is my understanding.
I’ve heard of those, but have never seen one. Creepy!
This was my first time hearing about them and from the looks of the teeth in the little fish – I don’t think I would want to run into one 33 inches long.
Now for a little post from the resident Wildlife Management Specialist (for all of you who just went, “nooooooooooo”…..it is Denny’s fault for posting about such interesting topics).
Northern Snakeheads first made their appearance in the lower Potomac in, I believe, 2004. Since that time, there has been no documentation that the Northern Snakehead has progressed into the upper reaches of the Potomac but rather have centered their populations in the lower Potomac near Mount Vernon (just outside of DC). I am from the Potomac Highlands in Pendleton County, WV, and I keep a close watch on this.
In 2004, there was a huge undertaking by both the state and federal agencies to combat the Northern Snakehead in the area where it was found, and entire stetches of the river were rotononed (basically regulated fish kill), to eliminate all fish in the area. I believe this was met with minimal success, due to the presence of lungs in Northern Snakehead. (well duh, rotonone basically removes the oxygen from the water and fish suffocate).
As far as the lungs go, although it is a very primitive lung and it can sustain itself for up to 3 days out of the water. That makes one think..hummmm, in 3 days you can go a long distance…wellllll, keep in mind that Northern Snakehead move from place to place (out of water) by wriggling..in my opinion, much like a carp does when water is low and it moves from pool to pool. This would limit how far they could travel in that 3 day window. Also, keep in mind that in all likelihood, the Northern Snakehead is not going to wander too far from the water since that is where it finds its food source!
Also, to my knowledge, no Northern Snakehead eggs or juveniles have been found in the Potomac Basin, a very important indicator that the species isn’t reproducing in the wild. Some biologists contend that the species is reproducing in open water, and that is the reason no eggs or frye have been located. Could be…all those fish are coming from somewhere. No definitive conclusion has been reached regarding reproductive success. If it were me, and I’m going out on a limb here, I’d monitor ballast water from incoming ships (that is how the zebra mussel got into the Great Lakes). It seems plausible that the fish are getting to the Potomac Basin in the same way.
Currently, the Northern Snakehead is being closely monitored for any change in population or range, and while it is a potential threat to many ecosystems, the situation hasn’t progressed to an imminent threat just yet.
The good news is, Northern Snakehead are considered a delicacy in many Asian cultures, so at least they are edible.
If this had occurred in the mid 1920’s during which time the timber companies had clearcut most of the Potomac Highlands, this wouldn’t be a problem. It was then that the water in the lower reaches of the Potomac were so acidic that it was known to take the hair off of cattle who came to the river to drink (Read “Transforming the Appalachian Countryside” by Ronald L. Lewis..chapter titled “If tree’s could cuss” for more information). This incident is the primary reason the creation of both the Monongahela National Forest and the George Washington National Forest…to protect the downstream reaches of river systems from upstream impacts. I wonder how long it will take for history to repeat itself in regards to MTR and downstream reaches of those affected streams?
(sorry to get off on a tangent in the last paragraph…I like to throw little known historical facts out there into cyberspace…and besides, you all have already read up on the Northern Snakehead!!).
Thanks for expanding on this post Matthew. Since I knew nothing of the northern snakehead I guess you could say I was kind of like a fish out of water.
Last week I saw a picture taken by the pro at Mount Vernon Country Club of a writhing ball of juvinile snakeheads. Apparently they are going to shock the pond, but there are quite a few ponds on the course and with the recent flooding it looks as though they came to be there due to flooding in Little Hunting Creek. So it appears that they are breeding in ponds and creeks in this area…
Wawayanda, NY (5 miles from Middletown in Orange County) the location of the newest sighting of Northern Snakeheads. (See Times Heral Record article dated June 28th) DEC proposing Prenfish. You know, the just kill everything and start over approach. Town meeting scheduled for July 8th 2008, 7-9:30 pm.
Wish me luck, my well is <100 ft from the lake (grandfathered), this lake is home to heron, huge turtles, bullfrogs, which will also be harmed by their plan.
Common sense is not a common commodity! Peace!
i hate the look of them
i think people should not releas snakeheads into lakes
i dont get y you kill them? i wana catch one!
i do belive that i caught a northeren snake head in the guyandotte river in logan county ,wv i had another one on my line but it come off at the bank.