How's the Potomac Snakehead Situation?

how is the northern snakehead situation in the Potomac River doing?

i saw a documentary some time not too long ago that said that they are definitley here to stay and that they aren't doing near as much damage as anticipated.

i don't think that they could have done that much hard to the ecosystem. they said that they don't have any predators in the potomac, but bass and other predators will eat the young snakeheads, keeping them in control. of course, that is just my logic, i really don't know where the situation stands.

i really want to catch a snakehead! i think they will be a great sport fish.

Virginia DGIF and Fish and Wildlife in Annapolis are the places to go to find trutful information out.

Every "documentary" I have seen lately is more science fiction than science fact. They are here to stay, they are spreading, and in a few places their numbers are steadily increasing. Their impacts will still not be truely known for years. The Potomac is already full of non-native fish, blue catfish, channel catfish, largemouth, smallmouth, bluegill, green sunfish, longear sunfish, rainbow trout, brown trout, and probably a few others lower down on the food chain.

A few interesting points from this year.

They are up the Anacostia River to the fall line. One of the fish had a 10" rainbow in it's stomach.

A large female and quite a few young-of-year were found in a small isolated pool on the flood plain of a stream southern Maryland.

Personally I hope they stay as elusive to catch hook and line as they have been to date. The last thing that needs to happen is someone gets a bright idea to move them for their own recreation or some foolish notion of increasing sport fishing oppurtunities.

I dunno, snakehead fishing could become part of the annual Redneck Games.

You can always stay tuned to this page : http://nas.er.usgs.g...?SpeciesID=2265

I wonder why there is only 1 listing in VA for 2008.

good site Drew!

I dunno, snakehead fishing could become part of the annual Redneck Games.

Sort of like a rattlesnake roundup and fishing tourny all in one!

Yes, I would like to catch one too...and beat its brains out.

Yes, I would like to catch one too...and beat its brains out.

Awesome.

Some years in the future I may wish to purchase this image from you to use as the cover of a conservation metal group I intend on starting

how is the northern snakehead situation in the Potomac River doing?

i saw a documentary some time not too long ago that said that they are definitley here to stay and that they aren't doing near as much damage as anticipated.

i don't think that they could have done that much hard to the ecosystem. they said that they don't have any predators in the potomac, but bass and other predators will eat the young snakeheads, keeping them in control. of course, that is just my logic, i really don't know where the situation stands.

i really want to catch a snakehead! i think they will be a great sport fish.

You can see a ton of them in the Potomac in the late spring/early summer, the young of the year ball up in the weed beds and the adults stay up on the surface. With the right conditions and a modicum of fish spotting ability you'll see them down in the Mt. Vernon area that time of the year. They aren't easy to catch though, excellent at ignoring my offerings and not the easiest things to hook in the world. I've caught a decent amount of large fish in my day and I'd say I've seen snakeheads close to 10lbs in the Potomac. They've run up all the tributaries in the DC metro area (severely disturbed ecosystems with loads of non-native fish). Check out this video to get an idea Snakehead Video

From what I can tell they occupy a niche that's not really occupied by other fish, there's no shortage of forage fish in the Potomac. So far they haven't effected the Largemouth Bass (non-native) fishery so there hasn't been many complaints.

I've caught a few small ones while sampling the Potomac, in my experience they stay in really shallow water, and are sensitive when you approach from the bank. I happened to have a camera along when I caught the one below. Given the amount I've seen I doubt it makes much difference but all the ones I've caught have ended up being Raccoon food .

Wondering does any non-chinese restaurant start putting them on the menu?

I'm not sure they could legally be on any menu because of the importation/possession ban. I know a short while ago U.S. Customs interepted a shipment going to a fish market/resturaunt in Los Angeles and the importer was charged.

I'm not sure they could legally be on any menu because of the importation/possession ban. I know a short while ago U.S. Customs interepted a shipment going to a fish market/resturaunt in Los Angeles and the importer was charged.

I've seen live tilapia at a VA international grocery store. Any idea how that gets around the importation/possession ban?

Is it now illegal to possess live Tilapia spp.? If so, then nearly every fish shop out there has illegal fish in their tanks. If they are illegal, how is Tilapia defined? As genus, specific species??

Don't forget the walking catfish and Asian arowanas, they are illegal but yet being sold in pet stores. I don't understand why they are still sell these fish.

They are listed right below snakeheads on the restricted species list in VA. You need a permit to be able to import, possess, or sell. Would a grocery store actually go through the proper channels of getting such a permit?

Perciformes

Channidae

Channa spp. Snakeheads
Parachanna spp.

Cichlidae

Tilapia spp. Tilapia

That is how they are listed

Could the store tilapia be some other genus, say Oreochromis?

It's just as likely that they are simply ignoring the ban and no one has called them on it. My local petstores sell illegal animals (especially turtles and crocodilians) with some frequency, and only get busted every couple years. They seem to feel it's worthwhile to continue carrying them.

Could the store tilapia be some other genus, say Oreochromis?

It's just as likely that they are simply ignoring the ban and no one has called them on it. My local petstores sell illegal animals (especially turtles and crocodilians) with some frequency, and only get busted every couple years. They seem to feel it's worthwhile to continue carrying them.

I have no idea what it is they call "Tilapia" at the store so they could very well be.

Since the snakeheads are here to stay, wouldn't it make sense to allow them to be possessed if killed after capture with no restriction on limit or method of capture.

Although I can't find it anywhere in the regulations that spells it out, my guess would be that groceries are allowed to sell tilapia purchased from permitted sources, especially if dead. I mean, people can get permits to farm tilapia in Virginia; it only makes sense that they would be able to sell it as well.

I have no idea what it is they call "Tilapia" at the store so they could very well be.

Since the snakeheads are here to stay, wouldn't it make sense to allow them to be possessed if killed after capture with no restriction on limit or method of capture.

Then you're going towards promoting a recreational (albeit not humane) fishery, which is a very touchy subject. I think our possession ban does allow for them to be killed/frozen and turned into VADGIF, FWS, or MDNR. Really people shouldn't play Johnny Appleseed with fish, non-native and native. It's pretty simple.

The pet industry dealing in restricted fish, invertebrate, and reptiles is a whole 'nother ball game.

I'm not sure they could legally be on any menu because of the importation/possession ban. I know a short while ago U.S. Customs interepted a shipment going to a fish market/resturaunt in Los Angeles and the importer was charged.

Just curious, would it be illegal to import them dead? Could restauraunts import them frozen and still serve them?

Since the snakeheads are here to stay, wouldn't it make sense to allow them to be possessed if killed after capture with no restriction on limit or method of capture.

If you can't possess them what do you do if you catch one? I would think it would also be illegal to release them.