How do we rid U.S. waters of Asian carp and Northern Snakeheads???

[Spike-A-Pike]

I'm still in the first few pages of the USDFW report and I'm curious to find out if the fears of contaminated water supplies is fact or fiction. I can understand how and why the carp got here... But the Northern Snakehead doesn't seem to have a logical explanation for getting into American waters. One article I read suggested that an individual followed a custom from his original homeland and released two of them into the wild as part of some sort of cerimmony. Given that the Snakeheads seem to be spreading across the U.S. East Coast at a pretty fast pace, I can't imagin that only one pair by a single individual is the sole source.

The markets that allowed these fish into the country needs to be shut down now. I had heard that the Snakeheads were/are being smuggled in, mostly for eating, if the news source reporting was correct. Oh well, if we can just get more poeple aware of the problem, maybe a solution can be found.

[Travis]

Release of fish sold at markets is one reported method for the snakehead. Again in the south commercial fish farms may have also played a role in the same fashion as some of the Asian Carp.

Another possible method is the wet pet theory. Some keep juvenille snakeheads in tanks (although crackdown has limited availability).

Snakeheads

Some good information on where they have been found. Species, other countries with introduced snakeheads, etc....

Edited July 11, 2008 by Travis

[bladesandbaits]

http://www.bowfishingassociation.com/

These boys wont rid our waters of them but they have sure done there part to put a dent in them down south.(with the exception of snake heads)

They launched from the same ramp as our weekly night tournmanet (for bass) a few weeks ago and I stayed around to watch them check in. Man they whacked a ton of gar and carp that night. Some boats had as many as 100 fish.

Regards,

Blades

[Spike-A-Pike]

Travis,

Another great find. I was pleased to learn that of the 4 types of snakeheads in the U.S., only 1 type could survive in the northern state. Your latest link talked about a giant snakehead found in Wisconsin could not have survived the winter. The problem isn't as wide spread as the Asian Carp - YET.

Blades,

I almost fear that bow hunting will be replaced with shotguns and the carp will become a replacement for shooting skeet - Lord have mercy.

[Brian_Va]

So happens I live near Snakehead central Virginia where is all got started. So far so good! The local bass pros have been fishn' snakehead last couple of years and the fish are extremely limited to local waters. They can't climb the falls at Great Falls, which is dynamite smallmouth fishn' BTW. They can't survive the salt of tidal Potomac so they are trapped for now. As it stands the locals have honed in on the Snakeheads and been fishing them as fast as they breed. Theres no laws on taking them except that you have to kill it and report it. My son and I have been planning on a trip to Dogue Creek this summer for Snakehead, for the table and the experience. The locals have embraced them for sport and food. Didn't turn out as bad as everyone thought.

Snakehead FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Our biggest concerns have been the mystery fish kills on the James and Shenandoah rivers. The smallies have just died and disappeared.

Edited July 27, 2008 by Brian_Va

[Spike-A-Pike]

It always seems that if there is a way to get to the mid-west via the St. Laurence or Mississippi River, it'll end up in Wi. The carp hunts seem to catching on too - just remove them from the waterway.

[BassintheGrass]

Not sure I agree with Brain_Va. The Potomac, especially the VA side is being overrun in areas now like Aqui Creek. A 9# snakehead was just taken there. Many of my spots along the Va side have been overrun by snakeheads forcing the bass out of the grasslines. I have also noticed that they are impacting the shallow water bite and not the channel bite. If the snakeheads remain tight to shore and locate in five feet or less they will destroy the system as well as creat an very serious issue with regard to spawning areas. I agree with the view that there should be an incentive created to remove these snakeheads from the fishery, either by commercial means or some reward. The State (VA) has been active in the awareness side but I am not sure there has been alot of effort in the removal of the specie. I liken it to how the State derals with excessive grass in areas and introduces the grass carp to curb growth to promote the overall fishery system, well if nothing is done with regard to the snakehead in the Potomac the result will be devastating to the system. It will only take one flood the likes of the MIdwest this year to have these fish intoduced to the James River, Rappahannock, Pamunky, Chickahominy and many of the other feeder and tributary waters sitting between the Potomac and Piedmont Va.

[Brian_Va]

Not sure I agree with Brain_Va. The Potomac, especially the VA side is being overrun in areas now like Aqui Creek.

I'm only repeating what the states of Md and Va as well as DC are saying. Aquia creek is already part of the locality for which they were originally found on the tidal Potomac. They sure aren't coming up the Potomac, I live here and I know all fish stop at the falls, it's roughly 50 feet straight up. They aren't going past brackish waters of of the extreme lower Potomac, and they refuse to use deep water like the Washington channel. So they are pretty trapped.

[mark poulson]

How about electroshock boats in the shallows, and frog gigs? Get rid of the majority of them, and not kill the bass.

[BassintheGrass]

There is little need for these ultra-predators to move and find new grounds unless they are deprived of feeding areas which currently has not happened given the square miles of water you are referring to in the tidal Potomac. They will destroy the fishery, especially the ability for spawning flats to successfully produce fish over the next few years for quality fishing in 2012-16. To say they are trapped is a misnomer. These fish have contained themselves and once they have depleted resources they will move on to new waters. This movement will be or could be assisted by any natural event like hurricanes or flooding. Reports are also on the rise in MD by the way in the creeks. My guess is these fish are being seen and caught in the shallow creeks in large quanity which mankes many to conclude they are not present in the depp water of the channels. This is of course not true. I caught quite a few in twenty plus feet and afterward check electronics and found them stacked up all over the line, either they were all snakeheads or they were feeding on a school, but after landing four in succession I gave up. All were properly per VA codes killed and iced. Largest was almost six pounds.

[Spike-A-Pike]

Man-made and natural disasters occur everyday in parts of the country where it should be impossible for them to take place. Here in the mid-west, we've had 2 "100 year floods" in less than 20 years. Earthquakes and floods are just two things that effect moving these fish from one waterway to another, and sometimes, fishermen and boaters, provide the transportation to move these fish.

The only way to get rid of them is to actively remove them - electroshock, bow hunting, bounties, are just some of the ways to reduce there numbers. I don't think the population of snakeheads will just go away because we'd like them to. Maybe after these fish get more established, and a few jet skier's get bit, they'll decide to take action - but, until then, they will become more adapted to their new home waters and destroy more of the fishery.

[Brian_Va]

I took the time to read up on Snakehead this year in hopes of getting my 5 year old out for a few before cold weather comes. In this time I learned that they breed at a ratio of 5:1 bass for cycles of spawning. They literally breed 5 times a year. They are here to stay. No amount of explosives, chemicals or electroshock is going to remove them. Like I said in the previous posts, they didn't overtake the waters as was originally feared, nor are they climbing over land and moving into creeks and ponds. They have stayed put in the shallow flats and tributaries for now. I personally don't believe they are going anywhere, they are bordered in like our rare Washington DC sturgeon. We don't get floods like out in the midwest, our water goes into the Chesapeake, all salt from there.

Secondly there are reports of bass feasting on schools of baby snakehead. This could be a new food source for bass. I'm hoping before fall I can get my kid into Dogue Creek with a bucket of minnows and post some pics for you guys.

[King Bait Co.]

Brian_VA now if they breed up to five times a year thats a ton of snakeheads being reproduced. How many eggs does one snakehead lay each time they spawn? Pirannas lay up to 2500 eggs per fish with only 800 to a 1000 making it after they hatch( thats a low estament). Then the numbers get a little smaller as they grow. Now if you look at how snakeheads are a survivor fish they most likely would adapt to deeper waters as food gets harder to come by in the shallows. The bass my be eating them up but I wouldn't look at it as a new food source for them. You have to look at as they are fighting for their home waters. The snakeheads are most likely snacking on the babies too while eating or attacking the males first that gaurd the nest leaving the nest unprotected. Once the snakeheads get to a certian size they will have nothig to hunt them down. They can get into other lakes, rivers and steams by ducks and geese. The eggs will stick to them and they fly somewere else and leave them. Thats how some of our lakes got over run with carp and shad. Their should be action taken now not later even if its shocking them. The longer we wait I will be fishing for snakehead in the next ten years here. The state and fed gov needs to quit talking and get things rolling now. Why not let commercial fish of snakeheads start we have proven we can wipe out other types of fish this way. Their is a market for them all over the US. Then make it once their gone their gone and if you get caught bring them in the US its five years in prison per fish. It kinda makes you wonder if someone in the gov or has ties to the gov has a plan to harvest them for profit.

Edited August 2, 2008 by King Bait Co.

[mark poulson]

There's too much common sense in your post for the Govt. to ever follow you suggestions.

Brian_VA now if they breed up to five times a year thats a ton of snakeheads being reproduced. How many eggs does one snakehead lay each time they spawn? Pirannas lay up to 2500 eggs per fish with only 800 to a 1000 making it after they hatch( thats a low estament). Then the numbers get a little smaller as they grow. Now if you look at how snakeheads are a survivor fish they most likely would adapt to deeper waters as food gets harder to come by in the shallows. The bass my be eating them up but I wouldn't look at it as a new food source for them. You have to look at as they are fighting for their home waters. The snakeheads are most likely snacking on the babies too while eating or attacking the males first that gaurd the nest leaving the nest unprotected. Once the snakeheads get to a certian size they will have nothig to hunt them down. They can get into other lakes, rivers and steams by ducks and geese. The eggs will stick to them and they fly somewere else and leave them. Thats how some of our lakes got over run with carp and shad. Their should be action taken now not later even if its shocking them. The longer we wait I will be fishing for snakehead in the next ten years here. The state and fed gov needs to quit talking and get things rolling now. Why not let commercial fish of snakeheads start we have proven we can wipe out other types of fish this way. Their is a market for them all over the US. Then make it once their gone their gone and if you get caught bring them in the US its five years in prison per fish. It kinda makes you wonder if someone in the gov or has ties to the gov has a plan to harvest them for profit.

[BassintheGrass]

The cooperative at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va supports none of what Brian_Va states regarding the snakeheads current existance in the tidal ecosystem. They have contain themselves and are not being contained by the artifical boundaries of Great falls or salt water as Brian-Va contains. Its a logical arguement but not supported by those studying the increased tidal density of the snakehead population which has tripled its grounds or habitat in the Potmac River system in less than two years. The more they reproduce the less source of feed their will be to sustain such a population and they will like all predators move into new waters whatever way possoble. Rumors have it the reason why BASS has not scheduled a major Elite event over this year or next two years is precisely the issue of the snakehead and the requirement of killing them upon catch. Wouldn't that be great on ESPN to see, Elite fisherman killing fish on board. Losing these tourneys will force places like La Plata who will feel the economic impact demand action. IT may take some time but it will come as citizens and business in these areas will suffer without these lucrative tourny trail draws.