Is the snakehead population increasing?
The short answer is, we don’t know. It is very difficult to estimate the size of a fish population in a large, open system, particularly without a detailed monitoring program in place. However, electrofishing catch rates increased significantly from 2004 to 2006, suggesting that the population is continuing to increase (Odenkierk and Owens 2007). Additionally, northern snakehead continue to be captured at more distant locations, including as far upstream as above Little Falls and the Anacostia River and as far downstream as Aquia Creek in 2007. This may represent the maximum area of the river that snakeheads can colonize, with Great Falls as a potential upstream barrier, and downstream dispersal limited by saline conditions. However, many of these areas were probably colonized some time after the Dogue Creek area, and populations will continue to increase throughout the river. The C & O Canal is connected to the mainstem Potomac River in several locations, and may represent a pathway f
