By: Associated Press | 12/18/2009 12:00 AMLast updated: 12/18/2009 11:56 AM
NEW YORK -- A pet fish that got wrapped up in New York state’s efforts to eradicate an invasive species has died.
Rocky, an 11-year-old snakehead fish, died Wednesday night in his tank at owner Chris Deverso’s home in Clay, near Syracuse. Deverso says the 28-inch-long fish showed no signs of disease.
Snakeheads can cause ecological trouble if they get into the wild. They’ve been known to empty lakes and ponds of all their native fish.
It has been illegal to own a snakehead in New York since 2004. Earlier this year, state environmental conservation officers planned to seize Deverso’s fish and kill it. The agency backed off after the fight went public and Deverso’s "Save Rocky" campaign got 1,300 signatures from people in more than a dozen nations.
01-05-2010, 05:28 PM
blitzhunter
I don't agree. They should have killed it or poured acid in that tank. People have no idea how bad snakeheads are. Many of them got in the wild when owners didn't want them anymore. Maybe this one guy was responsible, but hundreds of others who weren't, gives me an opinion that this one should have been destroyed. My 0.02.
"Snakehead fish are native to China but are imported into the US as aquarium fish as well as food fish. Snakeheads can cause serious problems to native fish populations if they get established in US waters.
A snakehead was found recently in a river in Wisconsin. Incredibly, it was not identified before it was released back into the river! It could be an aquarium pet that got too big and was dumped, or it could have been imported for food and somehow been released into the river.
A few months ago snakeheads caused quite a stir when one was found in a pond in Maryland. The media make a fuss about it and hyped it far out of porportion. Snakeheads have been found in US waters over a dozen times in the past few years but made little news until the snakehead was found in Maryland.
Snakeheads look a lot like bowfins to me. They feed in similar ways and have teeth. If you catch a snakehead, don't try to lip it! Do kill it, though, do not release it back into the water.
You should never release any kind of fish into waters it was not caught in. Snakeheads are just one example of the kinds of fish that cause problems. Carp are one of the worst of the imports.
Snakeheads are not considered game fish so there are no limits or seasons on them. They should hit live bait or artificials that look like little minnows since that is their major food. If you catch a strange looking fish, contact your local Game and Fish Department and have them identify it. Help keep your fishing waters clear of snakeheads and other problem fish. "
