Erroneous Report by Feds Miffs Maine Officials (Re: Snakehead / Frankenfish)

WGAN (AP) ^ | 24 July 2002

[Thinkin' Gal]

Erroneous Report by Feds Miffs Maine Officials

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) The snakehead, a toothy, torpedo-shaped fish, has been found in Maine, federal officials warned Tuesday.

There was one catch, as it turned out: The fish was captured 26 years ago.

The mix-up began in Washington D.C., where Interior Secretary Gale Norton proposed banning the importation of 28 species of snakehead.

A 26-inch long northern snakehead was caught by a Maryland angler earlier this month in a 9-acre pond behind a strip mall. Since then, more than 100 juvenile snakeheads about the size of a finger have been caught there.

The native of the Yangtze River in China grows up to 3 feet long, is a voracious eater and has the ability to crawl to neighboring bodies of water when its food supply runs out. That has raised concerns the fish could wreak havoc on local ecosystems.

''These fish are like something from a bad horror movie,'' Norton said during her announcement.

Norton also warned that the predators had already been found in open water in California, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine.

That was news to officials in Maine.

''It was never brought to our attention,'' said Francis Brautigam, an assistant fisheries biologist for the state's Inland Fisheries Department.

Maine biologists and fisheries experts began trading phone calls and e-mail messages with federal officials.

News stories about the proposed snakehead ban began appearing on web sites, and worried Mainers started calling state officials.

''A number of people are concerned about letting their kids in the water,'' said Don Kleiner, director of information and education at the state's Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Kleiner finally tracked down Maine's brush with the snakehead.

One fish was taken on the Mousam River near Sanford in 1976. Two others were apparently collected from the Saco River sometime before 1979, though that needed verification.

State biologists said they weren't overly concerned about the decades-old reports, especially because no snakeheads have since been found.

Kleiner was not sympathetic with the federal officials responsible for the mixup.

''The word I used to refer to this action on their part is 'bonehead,''' he said.

[Thinkin' Gal]

From the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species page:

 

Nonindigenous Occurrences: One fish (272 mm SL) was taken below Springvale Dam on the Mousam River, near Sanford, York County, Maine, during the summer of 1976 (USGS/BRD-G database). Two specimens were collected from the Saco River prior to 1979 (Courtenay and Hensley 1979a), but these records require verification. One fish (318 mm SL) was taken by an angler (who claimed to have caught a second specimen), at Pomps Pond (Merrimack drainage) in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts, in August 1990 (Hartel 1992; Cardoza et al. 1993; Hartel et al. 1996). The two reports from Rhode Island likely represent duplication of a single record: one fish (209 mm SL) taken from an unspecified pond (Courtenay, personal communication), and one fish taken by an angler at Johnston Pond in Coventry, Kent County, in 1968 (J. A. Stolgitis, personal communication).

Means of Introduction: All probably aquarium releases.

Status: Reported from Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

Impact of Introduction: Unknown.

Remarks: Juveniles are sold in the aquarium trade. In its native habitat, this aggressive predator is destructive to other fishes, killing all kinds and sizes in excess of actual needs (Roberts 1989). There is some confusion surrounding the Massachusetts record: the specimen was originally identified as Ophicephalus marulius (= Channa striata) (Halliwell, personal communication); the same fish was later reidentified as Channa cf. micropeltes, but with an error in the collection year [1991] (Hartel 1992), and finally as Channa sp. in Cardoza et al. (1993). Identification as C. micropeltes has since been verified (Hartel, personal communication).

Voucher specimens: Massachusetts (MCZ 96907); Maine (voucher specimen reported to be in University of Maine collection - UMO); Rhode Island (UMO 343).

http://nas.er.usgs.gov/fishes/accounts/channida/ch_micro.html

[Thinkin' Gal]

FYI

[dts32041]

I thought the snakehead first appeared 18 Jul 1969, In MA. at chapaquidick (sp), from a flipped Oldsmobile.

I thought Olyie Snow was a snakehead, or maybe it was baldi

[SeattleTiger]

This is the serpenthead I thought the thread referred to :-)...

SeattleTiger

[Shermy]

Thanks for the ping.

Remember, they can travel over land. Watch your step!

[mhking]

Naaa... this is more Carville's speed...