Why are the snakehead fish considered such a nuisance?
Snakehead fish are native to China but are imported into the US as aquarium fish as well as food fish. Snakeheads can cause serious problems to native fish populations if they get established in US waters. A snakehead was found recently in a river in Wisconsin. Incredibly, it was not identified before it was released back into the river! It could be an aquarium pet that got too big and was dumped, or it could have been imported for food and somehow been released into the river. A few months ago snakeheads caused quite a stir when one was found in a pond in Maryland. The media make a fuss about it and hyped it far out of porportion. Snakeheads have been found in US waters over a dozen times in the past few years but made little news until the snakehead was found in Maryland. Snakeheads look a lot like bowfins to me. They feed in similar ways and have teeth. If you catch a snakehead, don’t try to lip it! Do kill it, though, do not release it back into the water. You should never release
