Northern snakehead fish found in ponds in Maryland
DNR urges anglers to report snakehead fish catches
Northern snakehead fish have been caught in private ponds in Wicomico and Queen Anne's counties and may be breeding.
Mobile users tap here to watch video
Signs from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources urge anglers to report as much information as possible if they catch a snakehead fish and kill any they catch.
In Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, it is illegal to possess or release a snakehead. The penalty is a fine up to $25,000 and 30 days in jail. Transporting a snakehead across state lines can be punishable by a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.
Joe Love, a DNR biologist, said his team was recently alerted to snakeheads that were caught by anglers in private ponds in Wicomico and Queen Anne's counties.
"It was the first time that one had been caught in a private pond, and so it sparked our interest," Love said.
After their discovery in 2002 in a Crofton pond, the DNR has been in an ongoing battle with the northern snakehead fish, unofficially dubbed the "frankenfish."
The DNR has been working to curb the species. What's so concerning is not only are there signs that the fish are breeding, but officials can't figure out how they got in the ponds in the first place because the ponds had virtually no access to the Chesapeake Bay. Officials are not really sure if the fish were put in the ponds by someone or not.
"This system is somewhat connected to the Chesapeake Bay, so it's possible that the fish moved from the Little Choptank River, where we know they are occurring, to this ponded area," Love said.
The northern snakeheads are from China and are considered a delicacy there. The problem is they rapidly breed, which there is evidence of in the recent find, and they prey on native fish and their food supply, ultimately upsetting the balance of the bay's ecosystem.
Moving forward, biologists like Love are worried about what the long-term fallout might be, so they are once again trying to stay ahead of the game.
"The species is continuing to spread within our watershed. Populations are continuing to grow. We don't have an end point. We don't know what's going to happen or what is happening," Love said.
The DNR encourages anyone who catches a snakehead fish to kill it and report it. The DNR is offering rewards for anglers who catch snakeheads. For more information, call 410-260-8325.