August M
Nature has a funny way of surprising us when local ecosystems get thrown out of balance.
Sometimes, an unfamiliar creature shows up in a neighborhood pond and completely rewrites the rules of the local wildlife. Now, communities are taking unusual steps to protect their local waters from a strange new threat, reports PEOPLE.
A crafty critter
Anglers along the east coast are hunting a bizarre, sharp-toothed predator known popularly as the frankenfish. This aggressive species can breathe air, survive out of water for four days, and even crawl across dry land.
The creature is actually the northern snakehead, an invasive species native to Asia. Biologists are alarmed because the fish eats almost anything, reproduces rapidly, and has zero natural predators in American waters. Just one female can release up to 50,000 eggs at a time.
The New York Times reported on May 27 that Maryland officials are actively encouraging people to hunt them with bows and arrows. “They are a crafty critter,” Joseph Love, a fisheries biologist at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, told the Times. “They’re very good at moving through shallow water, they can move across land or can cross the road in some cases.”
Spreading up north
Originally spotted in the Chesapeake Bay back in 2002, the pests are moving into new territories due to warmer waters and heavy rains. Last week, environmental officials in New York confirmed that a snakehead had been caught on Long Island for the very first time.
According to the New York Post, state authorities want locals to catch every single one. These fish grow up to three feet long and devour turtles, birds, and small mammals.
To wipe them out, federal and state teams are using specialized boats to send electrical shocks into the water. This stuns the fish so they can be scooped up and killed. Maryland has even spent $17,000 in reward money for captured fish and legally renamed them “Chesapeake Channa” to make them sound delicious to restaurant diners.
New York officials are currently monitoring nearby lakes to stop the invasion from expanding. “I do see the point of the fishermen having a very exciting catch, but it’s not something we’re going to take lightly,” Heidi O’Riordan, a regional fisheries manager, told CBS.
Sources: The New York Times, New York Post, CBS, PEOPLE
