During this time, some anglers will fish for them using colored lines. At night, they come closer to the shores. Northern snakeheads can be caught by baitcasting, drift fishing, and top water fishing They respond better to lures from mid-March through April, and better to live bait during the cooler months. Fishing for the northern snakehead is similar to fishing for rock bass or smallmouth bass. These are bottom-dwelling fish and can often be found hiding near hanging foliage or submerged plants. They are a predatory fish that are native to Asia. BioInvasions Records (2018) Volume 7, Issue 4: 451–457.Northern Snakeheads have an uncanny ability to survive out of the water for days. Introduction and Dispersal of Non-Native Snakehead Channa Marulius (Hamilton, 1822) in the Canal System of Southeastern Florida, USA. īecause of its destructive potential, the bullseye snakehead and other fish in the same family have been places on the State of Florida’s Prohibited Non-native Aquatic Species list, banning the possession of live fish.īenson, A. Because this species of fish thrives in habitats found commonly in the southeastern United States, like marshes and densely vegetated ponds, spread is a great concern. They have an organ (called a labyrinth organ) that allow them to breathe while out of the water, as well as strong muscles along their bodies which allow them to wiggle across dry land from one body of water to another (Benson et al.

This fish can spread to new habitats rather easily because it can move over land. This snakehead fish is particularly threatening because of its ability to disperse to new areas on its own. There is also concern that native species of fish that are already threatened or endangered could become even worse off because of direct predation by snakeheads and/or food web disruptions (i.e. This can have drastic impacts on an ecosystem and the species that inhabit it. Because of their intense predation and generalist feeding, there is a good chance that snakeheads can disrupt entire food webs over time. This may include aquatic plants, crustaceans, insects, and other fish (Benson et al. They are also opportunist feeders, meaning they will consume just about anything they are able to catch. Snakeheads are veracious predators and adults exhibit highly predatory behavior. There is great concern that this invasive species may out-compete native species in the future, which may lead to a decline in our native aquatic species populations. The snakehead competes with native populations of fish for food and resources (Benson et al. The bullseye snakehead fish poses a threat to native wildlife of Florida by increasing competition in ecosystems of its introduced range. We will dive into some of these problems here. Many of the issues raised by the snakehead fish are ecological. The invasive snakehead fish causes many problems across the United States, particularly in the state of Florida.

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