Public Outrage halts states execution of Snake head ...
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Rocky the snakehead isn't off the hook
DEC will give Clay man more time to find home for his banned fish.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 By Tom Leo
Staff writer
The state Department of Environmental Conservation still plans to seize a Clay man's banned snakehead fish if he can't find it a legal home, DEC Region 7 Director Ken Lynch said.
"We haven't changed our position," Lynch said. "We're still concerned about the potential big-picture impacts of invasive species."
But the DEC is willing to give its owner Chris Deverso more time to find the 10-year-old, 28-inch-long fish he calls Rocky a home.
"From Day One, we've been patient with this," Lynch said. "We understand the sensitivity of the issue but we also have some pretty big obligations to protect against invasive species. What's done with this particular case could impact a number of other issues we deal with every day, with not just snakeheads but other invasive species and exotic pets."
There is no deadline to seize the fish, Lynch said.
DEC officers planned to seize and destroy the fish that's been illegal to own in New York since 2004 on Feb. 26. But they aborted that plan to avoid media coverage and interference from protesters.
Snakeheads are voracious, known for eating all the fish in a lake or pond and even eating their young. Deverso purchased the fish legally in 1999, before a federal and state ban.
Deverso has tried for two months to convince the state that his fish is not a threat. He says that unlike a northern snakehead species, his type of snakehead a giant snakehead couldn't survive in our cold climate. But state law does not distinguish among the 29 different species of snakeheads.
"Especially with fish, it's sometimes very hard to determine the species," Lynch said.
A permit cannot be issued, nor can Deverso's fish be grandfathered in since he owned it legally before the ban, Lynch said.
"It's not in the law," Lynch said, "and the law is specific to a number of different snakehead species, including the one he claims his is.
"Certainly, if there are opportunities out there for him to get the fish in a zoo or an aquarium, we'd be willing to listen," he said. "We're not going to rush to a decision until we give him the chance to explore all his options."
Deverso still is contacting zoos and aquariums. The Thompson Park Conservancy and Zoo in Watertown recently told him it can't take the fish. Deverso said it's possible Rocky might land in an aquarium in Ohio, although there is a concern the stress of such a long move might kill the fish.
The Burnet Park Zoo has said it doesn't have room for the fish.
Tom Leo can be reached at tleo@syracuse.com or 470-6013.
DEC will give Clay man more time to find home for his banned fish.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 By Tom Leo
Staff writer
The state Department of Environmental Conservation still plans to seize a Clay man's banned snakehead fish if he can't find it a legal home, DEC Region 7 Director Ken Lynch said.
"We haven't changed our position," Lynch said. "We're still concerned about the potential big-picture impacts of invasive species."
But the DEC is willing to give its owner Chris Deverso more time to find the 10-year-old, 28-inch-long fish he calls Rocky a home.
"From Day One, we've been patient with this," Lynch said. "We understand the sensitivity of the issue but we also have some pretty big obligations to protect against invasive species. What's done with this particular case could impact a number of other issues we deal with every day, with not just snakeheads but other invasive species and exotic pets."
There is no deadline to seize the fish, Lynch said.
DEC officers planned to seize and destroy the fish that's been illegal to own in New York since 2004 on Feb. 26. But they aborted that plan to avoid media coverage and interference from protesters.
Snakeheads are voracious, known for eating all the fish in a lake or pond and even eating their young. Deverso purchased the fish legally in 1999, before a federal and state ban.
Deverso has tried for two months to convince the state that his fish is not a threat. He says that unlike a northern snakehead species, his type of snakehead a giant snakehead couldn't survive in our cold climate. But state law does not distinguish among the 29 different species of snakeheads.
"Especially with fish, it's sometimes very hard to determine the species," Lynch said.
A permit cannot be issued, nor can Deverso's fish be grandfathered in since he owned it legally before the ban, Lynch said.
"It's not in the law," Lynch said, "and the law is specific to a number of different snakehead species, including the one he claims his is.
"Certainly, if there are opportunities out there for him to get the fish in a zoo or an aquarium, we'd be willing to listen," he said. "We're not going to rush to a decision until we give him the chance to explore all his options."
Deverso still is contacting zoos and aquariums. The Thompson Park Conservancy and Zoo in Watertown recently told him it can't take the fish. Deverso said it's possible Rocky might land in an aquarium in Ohio, although there is a concern the stress of such a long move might kill the fish.
The Burnet Park Zoo has said it doesn't have room for the fish.
Tom Leo can be reached at tleo@syracuse.com or 470-6013.
I cannot believe these places won't except Rocky... just think of all the publicity he would get .. people would come just to see him.. he is so popular now... gosh i hope theres a home available.. and i hope he can live through the stress..
