Snakehead Stories

• Three species of snakehead have been recorded in the United States, in the states of California, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Florida: An established (reproducing) population of bullseye snakehead was found in Broward County in 2001. This is the largest snakehead species. It commonly grows to a length of four feet. This species may have been introduced intentionally as a food fish, released by aquarium hobbyists or escaped from a fish farm - although there are no fish farms in the immediate area. Two northern snakeheads have been caught in the St. Johns River in Seminole and Volusia counties. This species was probably released as a food fish.

California: California Fish and Game personnel collected a snakehead in Silverwood Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles in 1997.

Hawaii: The chevron snakehead was established on the island of Oahu in the late 1800s, where it is cultured as a food fish.

Maryland: Two adult and about 100 juvenile northern snakeheads were discovered in Crofton, Maryland in late June and early July 2002. The species came from live food markets.

New England States: A northern snakehead was collected in October 2001 from Newton Pond in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The likely source of this fish was the live fish market. Specimens of the giant snakehead have been collected from open waters in Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. These snakeheads likely were released by aquarium owners whose "pets" grew too large or too expensive to feed. The giant is the most predacious snakehead species and has been known to attack humans.

• According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement, 16,554 live snakefish were imported into the U.S. between 1997 and 2000. The trend has been toward an increase in recent years.

• Live northern snakeheads are readily available in the seafood markets of Boston and New York.

• At least thirteen states already ban possession of live snakeheads: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.

• The states of Alabama, California, Florida, Kentucky, Texas and Washington have all recorded snakehead-related illegal activity, confiscations, citations or investigations within the past two years. Live northern snakeheads destined for food markets have been confiscated in markets in Washington, Texas and Florida in 2001. Another was purchased in Orlando, Florida in 2002. Snakeheads are also available over the Internet.