Virginia is faced with an invasion of non-native and highly invasive fish species known as the snakehead fish. Once they are turned out, from their tanks as people's pets or released from fish markets, they wreak havoc on natural ecosystems. "They have no know predators in the area and they are at the top of the food chain." "They feed on our native fish species, amphibians, aquatic species, and even some small mammals." Once they migrate to an area, they eventually consume the native fish population. They reproduce rapidly and in very large numbers. As a result they take over an area in a short amount of time.
Snakehead fish can also affect recreational areas. Even though there are no known attacks in the United States, some people believe the menacing looking creatures can attack humans and are dangerous. As a result, people may not want to recreate in water that the snakehead fish inhabits. People who wish to fish for recreational purposes in certain waterways may no longer want to fish there if the native population of fish are reduced and they are catching a lot of snakeheads. Snakeheads can also upset local economies that rely heavily on commercial fishing as a source of revenue.
If a radical policy is not proposed dealing with the invasiveness of the snakehead fish , our ecosystems will no longer be as diverse as they are now. The snakehead will out compete our native fish and, as a result, will make up most of the genetic pool in the waterways. We most find a solution to eliminate the spread of snakeheads before it is too late.
There have been some actions against the snakehead fish such as in Maryland, where a pond was found with snakeheads in it and was poisoned to ride it of the invasive species. The problem with that is it also killed all of the native species in the pond, but it was easily restocked with native fish. Virginia has take some action against the spread of snakeheads; education being its tool of choice to make the public aware of the invasive fish. Virginia has also banned ownership of snakeheads within it's state without a permit. It also encouraged the killing of snakeheads to anglers who catch them.
In my opinion something drastic has to be done to prevent snakeheads from infiltrating Virginia waterways furthermore. Education is a good tool no doubt but it doesn't have the teeth to deal with the eradication of snakeheads. I think Virginia should make a bounty system for catching and killing snakehead fish along with education efforts in order to more actively reduce snakehead numbers. It would give incentive for anglers to catch the fish and it would also reduce the harmful effects that snakeheads have on the environment.
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I agree with the fact that drastic measures have to be taken to prevent and eliminate invasive species. It causes great agricultural effects as well. The Varroa Mite, which was introduced in the US in 1987 and is a main cause to Colony Collapse Disorder in honeybees. This mite causes bees to die which are a major tool for agriculture production in that it is a major pollinator, vital to the growth of crops. Strict regulations should be enacted.
ReplyDeleteYikes! This is more than a question of animal rights. This is a 15 pound predator that has become a matter of state security, and multiple states at that. Since Snakehead fish have become illegal to possess in 2002, there still is time to control their reproduction so they don't spread even further. The technique that I think would be the best is the drainage of the lakes most inhabited. That way, native fish can be captured before they die. Other management plans like net fishing should be implemented for the remainder of the fish.
ReplyDeleteEw! Definitely not as cute and cuddly as the invasive species, the starlings and the english sparrows brought into the United States in the 1800s. The english sparrows, first brought into the northeastern region of the United States, can now be found anywhere in North America. I certainly hope this is not the case with snakehead fish, however it is difficult to tell when bringing in an alien species into a native environment. At the top of the food chain, it is easy for this species to spread and grow swiftly. A few management tools that Kellye Junco mentioned above, however, seem that they could be promising. However, it is always safer to simply prevent these types of problems, by not bringing in invasive species in the first place (although it is sometimes unintentional.)
ReplyDelete--- Kirsten Dobson
Wait I'm a little confused. How did the snakehead fish get into US waters? Were they brought here or did they migrate over from somewhere? Kelley I like the idea of draining the ponds for sure, opposed to killing everything in it. Who's responsibility is it to get rid of the snakehead? The states? Local governments? Also do these fish serve any benefit at all? Edible?
ReplyDeleteI remember reading about this a couple years ago; however, I did not know that it was still such a prevalent problem. This just goes to show how long it takes to fix an environmental problem and how complex it can be. To answer your question Lauren I believe that it was introduced into U.S. waters because it was someone's pet originally but it became too large and so they disposed of it into the waters. I remember this being a large concern especially in the Chesapeake Bay because it was disrupting the ecosystem. So is this species still contained within MD and VA waters or has it spread to other states?
ReplyDeleteThe snake head fish is a delicacy in some Asian countries and was released out of markets where it was sold to local residence who ate them or wanted them as pets. when this first happened there was a huge deal about it in my home area of northern VA trying to keep them out of the Potomac river, it didn't work. there was a bounty out on them for a long time if you caught one and gave it to the park rangers. My boss over the summer actually had one as a pet they are nasty creatures, as for attacking people i think that only happened in the SCI-FI original movie about them that was hilarious especially to anyone who lived near the waterways they were "terrorizing".
ReplyDeleteThe first snakehead was introduced in a Crofton pond by a man that believed in had medicinal purposes. When his wife recovered he released the snakehead into the pond where they first bred and then spread into the neighboring Potomac. The poisoning of ponds is a drastic measure that they took in order to stop the introduction of the species into other bodies of water and does not happen often. Now that they are in the Potomac they are impossible to get rid of. They spawn multiple times during the summer and protect their nests unlike other native fish. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and MD Department of Natural Resources use boat shocking once a month in highly concentrated areas. Shocking uses electrical currents through the water which stuns the fish so they can captured and killed in order to control the population. It is illegal to catch a snakehead and not kill it. The snakehead that has been known to attack people (in China) is the Giant Snakehead which is only in Florida right now. The Northern Snakehead is the only one in VA and lives in rivers. During periods of high rain they can migrate to small ponds. Snakeheads are edible and are actually quite delicious (yes I have tried them) but VDGIF feels that if they propose them as a game species people will spread them to other areas. On the Potomac they hold bow fishing tournaments where people sight fish for them. The best thing to do is continue to try to educate the public and to just learn to live with the fish. They won't eat bass over a pound so bass anglers have nothing to worry about. Snakeheads however are rather hard to catch.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wes that something has to be done to control these fish. No matter if they are all that harmful, the fact is that any native species for the most part is not beneficial when it is introduced into an environment that it is not native. Invasive introduced species rank second only to habitat destruction, as the largest threats to the natural environment. Introduced species are a greater threat to native biodiversity than many other environmental effects including pollution. The main problem is that as Wes has stated introduced species feed on other species, which creates a problem for the prey species and the predator species that fed on that specific prey before. Therefore, the introduced species hinders both the population of the prey animal and the predator animal because it is limiting the amount of food available to other predators. A similar situation to this happened with the apple snail which was introduced in Hawaii. This snail ate the plants that were necessary for habitat and food for other species therefore killing many native species that were necessary for that ecosystem.
ReplyDelete