one thing that we may forget from time to time is responsiblity. there are many people that think that it may be cool to own these exotic pets but dont realize what is involved. the laws that we are trying to prevent are a direct result of these people. i live in central maryland where someone released a snakehead into a local pond (crofton,md.). being an extremly invasive species the snakehead is now a problem. they are thriving in our waters, all the way down to the potomic, south of dc. it starts with us. just a thought. take responsibility. i belive the saying is one bad apple ruins the bunch. im new to this site but am digging it more and more each day.
Hey Paul, I live in Easton!
If I am correct the Northern Snakehead first appeared in a lake in Crofton, and quickly took the lake over. I am not sure if it was part of an Asian ritual, I was under the impression that the fish got out of the tank and squirmed to the water, seeing as they can survive up to 3 days out of water.
After it became a big issue the entire pond was poisoned (it was rather small), and every species was killed. By that time the fish had already spread.
The Oxford Lab (Oxford MD) has a Snakehead that I have seen, they are neat creatures. Many people think that you get it in the tank, it will get too big, then when they release it into the wild it will die. Wrong. Very wrong.
It is the responsibility of the fish keeper to understand what they are getting. people these days don't so any research. That is why PetSmart sells Oscars and Pacu. They sell them, the owner gets them, the fish gets so big it can't turn around in their 10g tank, then they decide to release it in the bay, and and someone gets attacked by a giant Pacu.
This ban on the importation of non-native species is good. Without it these problems would continue. You need to look at the issue objectively and make the right decision.