The Potomac Is A Nest Of Snake...Heads

A story in today's Virginia Pilot says that the invasive snakehead fish, like politicians, are here to stay in the Potomac Area.

Whether fish or politician, is that a bad thing? The Frankenfish won't eat you. The ecological doom predicted for our home waters aren't panning out.

Says The Pilot:

"Yes, they are aggressive and fearsome predators that gobble their prey whole. But so far, they have not ravaged the Potomac's prized largemouth bass population. Nor any other fish, bird or amphibian on which they feed.

"They appear to be coexisting."

The Virginia Pilot covers the Hampton Roads area. Its story described the expansion of the specie from D.C. waters south to the tidal Potomac. Snakes in the Bay is only a matter of time. Queue up Jaws for the snakeheads vs. bull sharks movie that's sure to follow.

But snakehead fry have been observed in the Anacostia River and are expected to migrate above Great Falls to the headwaters of the Potomac.

Which leads to three questions.

1. Do they eat mosquitoes?
2. Will they eat my boat?
3. Could it be a sport fish?

Science is silent on the first question and there are no reports of the second. That last question has some encouraging answers.

The Northern Snakehead can grow to three feet long and weigh to 15 pounds. A thick coat of slime protects their bodies from the elements, a characteristic they share with eels along with the shape of their bodies. They put up a fight and, like eels, are said to be good to eat, if Americans can get past their squeamishness to try.

The fish favors shallow water, especially flats with aquatic grass that gives them shelter. Some sportsmen have hunted them with bow and arrows. Word is, they make a good catch.

Cooking recipes tend to be Asian, reflecting the fish's origin, although a writer for The Las Vegas Weekly said that snakehead tastes like chicken when grilled. The fish is popular in Singapore cooked with green apples and ginger.

Both Maryland and Virginia have kill on sight orders for snakehead. Maryland asks anglers to report any fish caught outside the tidal Potomac to 410-260-8287. Virginia asks all anglers to report all snakehead catches, where ever caught, to its hotline at 804-367-2925.

Tastes like chicken, eh?

Photo Credit:

(cc) P3109470 from Mohd Fahmi's photostream on flickr.com