invasive – The Outdoors Guy

The northern snakehead discovered recently in a Burnaby, British Columbia pond is being analysed by Biologists. By all accounts it is the first time this invasive species has been found in Canadian waters.

Researchers are hoping to determine that the fish was an accidental release from someone’s exotic fish tank, although I don’t know why anyone would have a Northern snakehead as a pet.

In case you’re not familiar with these nasty critters, here’s an excerpt taken from my book Weird Facts about Fishing:

The northern snakehead is another odd fish
that is native to the Yangtze River in China
where they survive in large numbers. However,
as with many other accidental introductions into
North American waters, they can also be a scary
sight and create substantial damage. The northern
snakehead story in the United States dates back to
the turn of the new millennium where a restaurant
owner from New York City reportedly ordered
some snakeheads to make soup for his restaurant.
Well, that’s when all the trouble started. The
northern snakehead, you see, is a very peculiar
fish in not only its looks but in its ability to breathe
air. These critters can live for several days out of
water and in China are often packaged and
shipped live as they will remain fresh for longer
providing a fresher meal.

It is believed that the New York restaurant
owner received his snakeheads for soup but
found them too cute to eat, so later decided to put
them in his aquarium instead. As the story goes,
his two snakeheads quickly consumed all the
‘feeder fish’ the restaurant owner offered them
and in no time became too large for the aquarium.
It is believed the man then released them into
a pond behind the house where these nativeChinese
fish had their run of all the local pan
fish in the lake, which they made short work of
devouring. As time went on, the snakeheads
reproduced and eventually found their way into
other nearby water systems. They have reportedly
even been caught by anglers in Maryland
and turned into the Department of Natural
Resources for examination.

Because of their ability to breathe air and the fact
that they are extremely resilient, with such a veracious
appetite, the northern snakehead is a real
concern to local waters. Some people call them
the “Jaws” of the new millennium. They are
yet another example of an exotic fish species
accidentally released into non-native waters.
Within a year, it was discovered that the snakeheads
had been found in six other U.S. states.

In 2008 President George W. Bush announced
trade and import bans on 28 snakehead species,
in an attempt to prevent any further spreading. The
northern snakehead is another weird and wonderful
fact in the world of fishing today, though
probably weirder than they are wonderful.

Last June I Blogged about the Asian Carp and the MNR’s Rapid Response Plan – a strategy put together by that jurisdiction to deal with this horrible invasive species.

This is that post:

http://blogs.canoe.com/outdoorsguy/safety/asian-carp-mnr-rapid-response-plan/

Here we are 8-months later and talks in the US of a ‘permanent’ physical barrier being built, is finally back in the news. Unfortunately, though, the news south of the border is not great as a private consulting firm put the Asian Carp Barrier price-tag at over 3 Billion dollars!

USAtoday had this to say on the subject:

The cheapest solution would cost taxpayers more than $3 billion and would take at least a decade to complete.

The study, which cost $2 million and was funded by several foundations, says separating the two watersheds would create jobs and could end up being cheaper than spending money every year to fight invasive species.

The article went on to say:

The engineering study proposes one to five new barriers near Chicago, rerouting cargo and pleasure boats, and building huge tunnels to handle floodwaters that could no longer go into Lake Michigan.

Funding would need to come from Congress. More than $80 million has been spent fighting Asian carp in the past two years from federal Great Lakes funds; the fight against invasive sea lamprey costs $20 million per year.

Some scientists fear Asian carp could take over the Great Lakes if they were able to get into Lake Michigan in sufficient numbers.

A similar study by the Army Corps of Engineers is due in late 2015.

Still, whether Congress is willing to foot the multibillion-dollar bill for stopping invasive species is unknown.

“Physically separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi watersheds watersheds is the best long-term solution for preventing the movement of Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species, and our report demonstrates that it can be done,” said Tim Eder, executive director of the commission.”

With a pretty good understanding of what would happen should these ugly fish make it into the Great Lakes, I don’t think I’m the only one who’s a tad nervous!

Outdoorsguy

This is a totally unrelated blast from the past hunting photo from November, 1990 ….Yukon Bob is pictured in the top left and yours truly is in there as well, cept I’m not sure which one (could be the Waylon Jennings look alike):

Tag: invasive

Dreaded Northern Snakehead found in BC

Asian Carp barrier talks long time coming