Northern snakeheads have been caught in two Delaware waterways in recent months, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Fisheries Section has announced.
The snakehead is an invasive species that can impact fish, amphibians and invertebrate populations due to their predatory nature, competition for food resources and alteration of established food webs. According to research by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, northern snakeheads and largemouth bass have similar food and habitat patterns, and bass numbers increased as snakeheads were removed from shared waterways.
Last week, an angler caught a 24-inch fish in the Marshyhope Creek near the Route 404 bridge. Last fall, fisheries staff collected a 26-inch long snakehead during electrofishing efforts in Broad Creek just downstream of Laurel. Both fish were adults, weighing between four and six pounds. Both waterways are tributaries of the Nanticoke River, a very popular largemouth bass fishery in Delaware.
remember the nanticoke river empties into marylnds bay. kill all the snakeheads you find. thanks sjd
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