Snakeheads win

last updated 8 January 2015

Annapolis, Md.

The northern snakehead, a fearsome Asian fish that can slither overland, has made itself a permanent home in the U.S., according to biologists in Maryland and Virginia. Since May, fishermen have caught nine snakeheads in the Potomac River and its tributaries. Wildlife officials tried to wipe out the alien fish in 2002 by draining ponds where snakeheads had been caught. But now that snakeheads have established themselves in open water, there’s not much authorities can do. Fishermen said they feared that the sharp-toothed fish, a voracious predator, would wipe out local species in a matter of years. “They’ll eat everything in their path,” said Bill Bennington, a bass fisherman. The first snakehead turned up in Maryland after a man bought it to make soup but instead set it free.