Science - Reuters Crawling Snakehead Fish Face Poison in Maryland

Crawling Snakehead Fish Face Poison in Maryland
Sun Jul 28, 3:23 PM ET
By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A scientific panel on Friday recommended that Maryland game officials use poison to kill land-crawling snakehead fish found in a local pond and prevent the voracious predator from slithering into the state's waterways.

The snakehead, which grows up to 3 feet and can crawl across land to find new prey, was discovered this summer by a fisherman in a pond in Crofton, Maryland, raising fears that it could devastate local fish populations.

After about 100 baby snakeheads were later found in the pond, state officials created a scientific panel to figure out the best way to destroy the fish.

The poison would be mixed into the pond and kill the snakeheads quickly, said John Surrick, spokesman for Maryland's Department of Natural Resources.

"The experiments that we did in the lab earlier this week indicated that the fish would die within an hour," he said.

The department will decide by the end of next week whether to proceed with the poisoning proposal, Surrick said.

Draining the pond would have run the risk that baby snakeheads could have escaped in the water pumped into a nearby river, officials said. Other options such as large scale netting or electro-shocking the water were also discarded.

Rotenone is used by gardeners to kill aphids and other insects. The pesticide has also long been used by managers of U.S. fisheries to get rid of exotic fish or control fish diseases because it does not harm birds or mammals.

In Crofton, the pesticide's impact would be limited to the pond because it dissipates in a few days.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration published on Friday its proposal to ban imports and trade across state lines of 28 species of snakehead.

Snakeheads have been found in at least six other states: Hawaii, Florida, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, according to the Interior Department.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton this week described the fish "as something from a bad horror movie."

The freshwater snakehead has a huge appetite, often consuming all other fish in a lake and even eating its young. When it exhausts its food supply, the fish can slither across land, staying out of water for up to three days, to find new sources of food.

They have even attacked people in China who got too close to snakeheads' egg nesting areas, Norton said. The fish is also native to Africa.

Two snakeheads -- dubbed "Frankenfish" by some -- were dumped in the Maryland pond by a local resident who bought them from a live fish market to make soup for a sick relative.

The fish has primarily been imported to the United States by seafood sellers and aquarium shops.

Snakeheads are sold in fish markets and some restaurants in Boston and New York, where they are legal. The fish have also been sold through aquarium fish retailers over the Internet.

Such sales would be banned under the Interior Department's proposal, which is open for public comment through Aug. 26.

A version of this AP report was printed in today's New York Sun:

SINGAPORE –– Fish breeder Koh Boon Haw has some advice for Americans trying to eradicate the predatory snakehead fish: Simply cook them up with green apples and ginger, sit down and enjoy.

Demonized and subjected to an eradication campaign in the United States since it infested a Maryland pond, the fanged, freshwater fish is a delicacy in this predominantly ethnic Chinese city-state.

Singapore's 4 million inhabitants gleefully have followed news of the Maryland pond teeming with the species, which American authorities fear could spread from the pond, devouring indigenous species and overrunning local ecosystems along the Atlantic Seaboard.

On Tuesday, a proposed U.S.-wide ban on the many species of snakehead was announced as Interior Secretary Gale Norton declared, "These fish are like something from a bad horror movie."

But in Singapore, the snakehead is viewed simply as an important part of a savory lunch.

"We've been eating snakeheads for centuries. They're tasty and the flesh is so tender," said Koh, general manager of Khaiseng Trading and Fish Farm, while standing over a tank of the fish.

Put snakehead fish in soup, grill them, or fry them with rice noodles, Koh said, but be sure to use lots of ginger to cut the fishy taste.

"And if you cook them with green apples, it's also very good for the complexion," he said.

Maryland scientists are studying the best way to eradicate the fish from the pond, where they were dropped years ago, for fear they could spread throughout the northeastern United States.

Koh's advice: "The best way to get rid of them is to just eat them."

Singaporeans following the snakehead fish furor find the fish's portrayal both hilarious and exaggerated.

Digging into a bowl of snakehead fish-and-noodle soup at Singapore's Hong Kong Street Seafood Place, 46-year-old real estate agent Gerald Goh said, "From young, we know snakeheads have good nutritional value and even a healing effect.

"But it's no monster. It's good with noodles."

Singapore imports about 1,200 tons of snakehead fish a year, primarily from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, according to the Agrifood and Veterinary Authority. Also, three local fish farms – including Koh's – raise the snakehead fish.

Koh sells his fish for about $4 per 35 ounces, and said the sudden U.S.-driven snakehead fascination has brought an influx of new customers.

He smiled at U.S. reports the voracious fish can survive for days on land and scurry from pond to pond.

His assistant dipped a hand into an open-topped tank, pulled out a snakehead specimen and dropped it to the floor.

"Sure, they can wriggle around, but it's not like they can walk," Koh said as the fish whipsawed its body across the cement. "They can maybe live out of the water for a few hours.

"They're vigorous, yes, but not vicious."

Like many ingredients in Chinese cuisine, the snakehead fish is prized for specific health benefits.

Many Singaporeans believe the snakehead, when cooked with green apples, softens the skin. They say the fish, when mixed with certain herbs, can hasten the body's recuperation from a wound.

Other Chinese seafood ingredients are advertised to make a consumer "strong" – a polite term for an aphrodisiac.

But not the snakehead, Koh said.

"Yes, eating the snakehead will make you healthy and strong," he said with a smile. "But not like Viagra."

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