idea to get rid of snakeheads

[hardb0iled]

Personally i think they should leave the snakeheads alone, just so it will show all the angry people that nothing major is going to happen with their water systems, and their "game fish". I seriously doubt that this snakehead sp. is going to screw up anything...

..you need to come down here to Aust and see what introduced fish can do to the native fish populations and health of the river systems!

Our largest river system is over run with introduced fish and as a consequence the native fish are in such low numbers that some of them are listed as endangered and close to extinction - including my Murray Cod, which 200 years ago was the largest and most plentiful fish in the Murray River system! These days they are a sought after angling fish, simply because its so rare to catch one!

 

[rweedon]

eradication of INVASIVE SPECIES is a must! Getting arid of such species like SH in non native waters will ensure the survival of the native species and leaving them there will just promote the extinction of many species just because you don't want to be mean to the lil fishies that are erradicating species that have been established in these regions for hundreds to thousands of years...

 

[leviathon13]

eradication of INVASIVE SPECIES is a must! Getting arid of such species like SH in non native waters will ensure the survival of the native species and leaving them there will just promote the extinction of many species just because you don't want to be mean to the lil fishies that are erradicating species that have been established in these regions for hundreds to thousands of years...

yeah, you're probably right, i guess alot of us are still pissed about the snakehead ban.whoever released them was an idiot and just gave the rest of us "responsibles" a bad rep. I'm all for conservation . just wish i could still keep whatever species i choose.

 

[leviathon13]

they should just leave them alone. most likely they wont survive forever.

or they could stock 1,000 flathead catfish every two miles and let them eat all the snakeheads, and any other fish thay can catch......ya, thats not a good idea, is it?

don't forget though , even Va. fish and game said that the bass there were introduced, not native to that particular river system. Say, the snake heads DON"T take over and find there own "niche", do you think they'll become a new game fish for the area? like the peacock Bass in Fla.?No , that's not a reason to not worry about the what ifs, but but the biologists know there is no way to completely irradicte them at this point, just study them and try to reduce or control their #'s.check out this article. http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_71145.asp
Fla. has had Cobra snakeheads breeding in the canals down there for years and they haven't wiped out anything, not to say their being there is a good thing, it's just something the ecosystem has to try to adapt to.asia is home to alot of adaptable preditory fish.and they aren't the only species living there, if they were, they'd eat themselves into extinction.
Last thing, if you read all the articles, it seems as though the only thing that Va. is worried about is their Bass fishing industry, it seems more like a money thing than an ecology thing. the only species they ever mention is the Ba$$, the Ba$$.

 

[Big Business]

Personally i think they should leave the snakeheads alone, just so it will show all the angry people that nothing major is going to happen with their water systems, and their "game fish". I seriously doubt that this snakehead sp. is going to screw up anything... Yeah i do agree that people shouldn't release exotic animals into non native habitats but it is already done and over with.. This rediculous complaining isn't going to do anybody any good. You know since their are dogs that people have like pit bulls and rotts attacking and killing people and other animals maybe they should outlaw all dogs no matter of their species all across the united states just because one or two species bit or killed something that is just as fair don't you think, Dogs can breed fast not all have owners,and can wonder around anywhere they want too. Lets start harpooning dogs and shocking them too because their are too many of them and they are taking over..... NOW doesn't this dog statement sound just a stupid as all of the snakehead statements.........

agreed. the news organizations want some frightening story to pull in readers. when in fact it's not a big deal. in fact some of the species they are concerned about aren’t even natives! goldfish, fathead minnow, green sunfish, channel catfish, bluegill, brown trout, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass are all introduced species in the Potomac

 

[JnASabo]

I think it would be a good idea, but I don't think SH will ever disapear from the potomac. It might keep them down to a more tolerable level. I think it might be good for a little more tourism to the area too. It might be tough to find a sponsor for the whole month with daily prizes though. But hey maybe they can try it for a week this summer and see how it works. I'd still like to get up there and try to catch a few. I hear they are tasty.

 

[leviathon13]

agreed. the news organizations want some frightening story to pull in readers. when in fact it's not a big deal. in fact some of the species they are concerned about aren’t even natives! goldfish, fathead minnow, green sunfish, channel catfish, bluegill, brown trout, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass are all introduced species in the Potomac

Thank you , I'm not an idiot after all!! My husband wrote the thing after i did this one about the bass fisherman getting pissed because it was cutting into their $$$$$$$$. That is true and if the media would quit making such a big whoppty doo about it all,they would come to see that like you said most of the other species as you stated are not native species either...... The BA$$ fisherman should just sit around for a while and let the SH get a little bigger and BAM there is another cool sport fish that's more fun to fish for gets bigger, and puts up a bigger fight which is what they like , and i hear they taste pretty good..... WHile not completly eradicating them from the river, lets just be honest they are never going to dissapear now....... And in ending like my husband stated on the last post the cobra snakehead was introduced to florida a few or more years ago and you don't see anyone whining that all of any one kind of species of fish is dissapearing due to the SH down there and with their warmer waters that very well could of happened BUT IT DIDN"T DID IT!!!!!!!!!!

 

[leviathon13]

..you need to come down here to Aust and see what introduced fish can do to the native fish populations and health of the river systems!

Our largest river system is over run with introduced fish and as a consequence the native fish are in such low numbers that some of them are listed as endangered and close to extinction - including my Murray Cod, which 200 years ago was the largest and most plentiful fish in the Murray River system! These days they are a sought after angling fish, simply because its so rare to catch one!

When you say "These days they are a sought after angling fish, simply because its so rare to catch one!" Does this mean that even after saying they are almost endangered/ close to extinction you still want to catch and kill them/eat them?????? Correct me if im wrong...... *The Wife**

 

[hardb0iled]

When you say "These days they are a sought after angling fish, simply because its so rare to catch one!" Does this mean that even after saying they are almost endangered/ close to extinction you still want to catch and kill them/eat them?????? Correct me if im wrong...... *The Wife**

Being 'close' to endangered unfortunately is not enough to ban all fishing for them, they have been a sought after angling fish for hundreds of years and so people still fish for them, the fish is basically a legend in fishing circles here in Australia.

There are seasons now when you can and cant fish for and catch them(breeding seasons you arent allowed to fish for them), there are strict bag limits and strict size limits for catching them, plus they are now farm bred and re-introduced into the rivers to help wild stocks but this is never a very good fix to the problem as the farm bred genetics arent as good or diverse as whats in the wild. Plus the introduced fish which has causes the most damage are still rampant in the rivers and cant be erradicated so numbers will never return to what they used to be

This is just one fish in the river - the whole ecosystem is basically stuffed now though. The fish also stir up the muddy bottom of the river and cause bank errosion and silting problems which then effects farmers who use the river for irrigation. I dont agree with introducing any non native species to an ecosystem, we have had far more ecological disasters in here in Australia from misguided attempts to introduce animals for a certain purpose, and these have been by so called experts - not just some clueless hobbyist letting their pet lose.

 

[leviathon13]

Being 'close' to endangered unfortunately is not enough to ban all fishing for them, they have been a sought after angling fish for hundreds of years and so people still fish for them, the fish is basically a legend in fishing circles here in Australia.

There are seasons now when you can and cant fish for and catch them(breeding seasons you arent allowed to fish for them), there are strict bag limits and strict size limits for catching them, plus they are now farm bred and re-introduced into the rivers to help wild stocks but this is never a very good fix to the problem as the farm bred genetics arent as good or diverse as whats in the wild. Plus the introduced fish which has causes the most damage are still rampant in the rivers and cant be erradicated so numbers will never return to what they used to be

This is just one fish in the river - the whole ecosystem is basically stuffed now though. The fish also stir up the muddy bottom of the river and cause bank errosion and silting problems which then effects farmers who use the river for irrigation. I dont agree with introducing any non native species to an ecosystem, we have had far more ecological disasters in here in Australia from misguided attempts to introduce animals for a certain purpose, and these have been by so called experts - not just some clueless hobbyist letting their pet lose.

Like i've stated in the last post i myself have put on here not just my husband i do agree that non-native species should not be let into other eco-systems, all i'm saying about the SH is that its already in there its not going to get completely eradicated... The people that are complaining about it have no info (good info) on the fish at all..This fish can and will get eaten by the larger cat fish that occupy the river and all they have found within the two yrs its been in there is that it has only been eating insects that fall on the water and small golfish(non-native to the river) and small killie type fish (non-mative to the river) . Non of their precious ba$$ or other big game fish... Ohhh Yeah and when snakeheads get out of water they don't survive for 4 days or so on dry land I KNOW i have had some before in my Local pet shop and when they jump out of the tank they dry up completly and die within a couple hours..... Unless they are outside in a warm country that has a rainy season with tons of bodies of water less than 50 feet or so from eachother they are NOT going to get out of the water and walk 20miles to "INFEST" another body of water....... NOT TRUE