What are the potential effects of snakeheads to our waters?
During all of their life stages, snakehead fish compete with native species for food and habitat. A major concern is that snakeheads might out-compete (and eventually displace) important native or other established predatory fish that share the same habitat. As adults, snakeheads can be voracious predators. Should snakeheads become established in North American ecosystems, their predatory behavior could also drastically disrupt food webs and ecological conditions, thus forever changing native aquatic systems by modifying the array of native species.
Related Content
What is the Federal Government doing about snakehead fish?
Where do snakeheads live?
What are snakeheads?
What should be done with a captured snakehead fish?
Can snakeheads still be purchased for food purposes?
How did snakehead fish get into the United States?
Can snakehead fish harm humans?
Can aquarium hobbyists still possess snakeheads as pets?
What is an invasive species and why are they a problem?
The National Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Program maintains a database that monitors, records, and analyzes sightings of nonindigenous aquatic plant and animal species throughout the United States. The program is based at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Gainesville, Florida.The initiative to maintain...
Neilson, Matthew E.; Fuller, Pamela L.
Invasive Species Program --Snakeheads, Aquatic Invaders
Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae): A biological synopsis and risk assessment
Snakeheads (family Channidae) are airbreathing freshwater fishes containing two genera, Channa with 26 species native to Asia, Malaysia, and Indonesia; and Parachanna with 3 species native to tropical Africa. Some snakeheads are small, reaching about 17 centimeters, but most are much larger, the largest reported to be 1.8 meters in length. All are...
Courtenay, Walter R.; Williams, James D.
A Breakthrough in Controlling Invasive Fish
On a windy July morning on Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay, fisherman Ralph Wilcox of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and his son, Dan, netted 300 pounds of wriggling whitefish. The mild-flavored salmon relative is served in restaurants, in smoked fish spreads, and as gefilte fish at Passover. However, two of the fish in the Michigan fishermen’s nets were badly wounded.
Moving Barges Have Potential to Transport Invasive Fish
When a moving barge encounters small fish in the Illinois Waterway there is a possibility that the fish will become trapped in the gap between barges, according to a new study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Invasive Northern Snakehead Carries Bacteria as Bad as its Bite
The invasive northern snakehead fish found in the mid-Atlantic area is now cause for more concern, potentially bringing diseases into the region that may spread to native fish and wildlife, according to a team of U.S. Geological Survey scientists.
Largemouth Bass Virus Found in Northern Snakeheads in Virginia
A virus that can cause disease in largemouth bass has now been identified in otherwise apparently healthy northern snakeheads taken from two Potomac River tributaries in Virginia, the U.S. Geological Survey announced today.
USGS Confirms Snakeheads in NYC Lake - Invasive fish species threatens native fauna
U.S. Geological Survey fisheries biologists in Gainesville, Fla., have confirmed the presence of the voracious non-native northern snakehead fish in Meadow Lake in Queens, N.Y. Five specimens have been collected by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation from the lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park since early July.
Snakehead in your inbox? Welcome to the Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Alert System
Want to know how many new species have been found in your state in the past six months, or where the latest sighting of snakeheads occurred? You can find the answers to both these questions at the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Alert System.
INVASIVE FISHES POSE INCREASING THREAT TO U.S. WATERS AND NATIVE FISHES SAYS USGS
Skyrocketing numbers of invasive non-native fishes in the nation’s waters are increasingly threatening aquatic systems, according to three USGS biologists writing in a book recently published by the American Fisheries Society.
Bullseye snakehead, Channa marulius
Bullseye snakehead, Channa marulius, caught during Fish Slam November 2018
Snakehead
Chad Wells with snakehead caught in the Maryland Chesapeake Bay watershed
Boat electroshocking crew with bullseye snakehead (Channa marulius)
Boat electroshocking crew with bullseye snakehead (Channa marulius)
Two crew holding a bullseye snakehead (Channa marulius)
Two electrofishing crew members holding a bullseye snakehead (Channa marulius)
Fish Slam 2016 - Bullseye snakehead (Channa marulius)
Bullseye snakehead (Channa marulius)
Northern Snakehead
Virginia unit researchers study seasonal movement, dispersal, and home range of invasive Northern Snakehead Channa argus. Scientists also research growth and reproductive behavior in a newly established population of northern snakehead.
Snakehead Fish
Snakehead fish are originally from China and Korea, but recently they've been found in Maryland, Virginia, Arkansas, California, and Florida.
Snakehead Fish
Snakehead fish are originally from China and Korea, but recently they've been found in Maryland, Virginia, Arkansas, California, and Florida.
Snakehead Fish
Snakehead fish are originally from China and Korea, but recently they've been found in Maryland, Virginia, Arkansas, California, and Florida.
Northern snakehead (Channa argus)
Northern snakehead (Channa argus) is an aquatic invasive species in the mid-Atlantic region and elsewhere.