The Northern Snakehead fish was immediately labeled a dangerous, invasive predator when it surfaced in Maryland more than 20 years ago, but now, at least one angler thinks it's getting a bad rap. "I don't see them being as big a problem as they're making them out to be," angler David Sturm told 11 News. Sturm questioned just how dangerous the fish is to Maryland's ecosystem. It's a difficult fish to catch, but Sturm reeled in a snakehead fish so big that it was labeled a dragon. "The fight is ridiculous. They will definitely give you a run for your money. From the (riverbank), it's fun, it's so much fun," Sturm told 11 News.
A native species to Asia, the snakehead was labeled an invasive species by the federal and Maryland state governments when it first made its way into the local waters in 2002. But based on what Sturm has observed, he questions the invasive species label.
"These fish are targeting little, smaller bait fish just like your large-mouth bass, your small-mouth bass, your chain pickerel, your pike, your tiger muskee. All the other predator fish that are out there in the waters, I'm not really seeing too much of a difference in population." Sturm told 11 News. "I don't see them being as big a problem as they're making them out to be."
Sturm's concerns were raised to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to clear up some misconceptions about the northern snakehead.
The DNR stands by the invasive species label, saying this fish is a predator and a hearty one at that. These fish are able to live outside of water and are muscular with a full mouth of teeth. But they don't negatively affect every body of water. Joseph Love, the DNR's statewide operations manager, told 11 News its true that the snakehead fish isn't yet causing problems in freshwater lakes or rivers. "However, there are some areas in Maryland where we have seen problems. One of them is in Blackwater River, where we've seen decrease in the abundance of some of the species in that system," Love told 11 News.
The larger concern is the snakehead spreading beyond Maryland's waters into places like West Virginia and Pennsylvania, where there are more vulnerable ecosystems. "There are many species in Maryland and elsewhere that are rare and have very low abundances. We'd rather not have snakeheads cripple those species," Love told 11 News.
The DNR is encouraging anglers like Sturm to continue fishing for the snakehead fish and harvest them to take home to eat. There's a growing commercial market for the fish, helped along by legislation giving the fish an alternative, and arguably, more appealing name, the Chesapeake Channa.
"Believe it or not, people love to eat these fish. I love to eat these fish as well," Love told 11 News. "They are fantastic, to be completely honest. In my personal opinion, I think they taste better than the rockfish," Sturm told 11 News.
Experts and anglers agree the Northern Snakehead is here to stay. The key is to keep the population under control, and Sturm is happy to lend a hand -- and a hook.
The trouble with controlling snakeheads by hook and line, is that by and large, the areas they live in, shallow, swampy areas, are difficult for a majority of anglers to get to and fish. Snakeheads are also a little hard to catch, sometime tough to get to bite, and often throwing the hook thanks to their toothy mouth.
It's interesting to note that at least two of the "desirable" species noted above, Largemouth Bass and Tiger Musky, are introduced species. The Largemouth is so predominant in many tidal fresh areas, that if people weren't more than happy to catch them, they would certainly be considered invasive. They certainly alter the ecosystem from pre-introduction norms, whatever they were.
Yep, we're stuck with them, and might as well learn to catch and eat them (they are, in fact, delicious). And they must be pretty good actors:
No comments:
Post a Comment