Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Invasive fish found in Arkansas

An invasive species of fish native to Asia and known as the northern snakehead has found its way from the Potomac River in Virginia all the way to eastern Arkansas.

The northern snakehead, according to Randy Zellers, news editor for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, has been sensationalized in the media as an aggressive Fish-zilla type that kills everything it sees.

Walleye have larger teeth than them, he said.

Zellers said the fish are only aggressive to fish that are smaller than them, but they are a territorial fish. He said the fish can spawn up to five times per year, and they attack other fish in order to protect their nest.

The species can swim, walk on land and live out of water for up to three days. It closely resembles a bowfin, or grennel, fish that is abundant in this area.

Zellers said there is no telling when the species could make its way to the Little Missouri River.

To get over to the Little Missouri, he said, is a pretty long stretch.

AGFC officials are trying to control the population of the species where it has been found, Zellers said, and they may never get to this area.

Theres cause for concern, but there isnt concern for hysteria or alarm, Zellers said.

Although the Associated Press reported the fish target largemouth bass, bream and crappie, Zellers said they have yet to see any noticeable impact with game fish.

Theyre just like any other invasive species, he said. Theyre like water hyacinth, zebra mussels and hydrilla  by time they were noticeable, all we could do was control the spread. Our biggest concern is that we dont know what impact they have.

The fish was banned in Arkansas in 2002, but officials say the species may have been brought into the state before the ban, according to reports from AP.

The northern snakehead is used as a food species in Asia, and we know some were brought to fish farms in the U.S. before 2002, Mark Oliver, assistant chief of fisheries for the AGFC, told AP. Fish farmers in Arkansas realized the potential danger the species posed and tried to eradicate them even before bans were imposed.

AP reported that biologists are killing every confirmed northern snakehead they find, but officials say eradication will be difficult.

We cant be sure exactly where this population came from and we just dont know how far theyve spread, Oliver told AP. Their abilities to live in extremely poor water conditions and reproduce quickly make them a difficult target to completely eliminate.

Biologists urged that the fish isnt dangerous to humans  only to other fish, reports AP.

Theyre a top-shelf predator in our fisheries, Oliver told AP, but they arent some kind of Frankenfish that will attack people or chase them on land.

But will this have an impact on fisheries in the state, or even the price of fish?

Right now its just too early to tell what sort of impact snakeheads may have on a fishery, said John Odenkirk of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. But invasive species rarely provide many benefits to systems where they are introduced. By the time the damage is seen, it can be too late to control.

If you catch a northern snakehead, officials urge that you kill the fish, keep it and report it to AGFC Fisheries Division at 501-223-6428.