Dover, Del. -- Northern snakeheads have been caught in two Delaware waterways in recent months, the DNREC Fisheries Section said Friday, July 22. 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 in Delaware waters north of Federalsburg, Maryland. Last fall, DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife 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. The Nanticoke River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.
“We are concerned about possible adverse impacts to largemouth bass in this important watershed if snakeheads become established,” said Fisheries Biologist Catherine Martin.
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