Snakeheads

[Gerry Zagorski]

I saw a Star Ledger article on the Snakeheads and they say they showed up in NJ in 2008. Seems like 2 different opinions on them catch and kill or catch and release... Seems like the state of Delaware is taking it a step further and might begin offering bounties for them..

What are your thoughts

[thmyorke1]

Just in case DEP is reading this, I'll note every snakehead i caught ive eaten

However, i dont understand their impact still. I guess no one does?

They seem to keep to South Jersey waters,
Despite all this time (Likely older than 2008), and some confirmed catches in the upper delaware, they dont seem to hold any substantial population upstream of the lower/tidal Delaware and those tribs.

You'd think by now, you'd see them establishing a population up north. Even at least the DnR canal. But there doesnt seem to be any confirmed degrading of fisheries up even in the DnR canal. Muskies, SMB, walleye, flatheads, etc have all filled into the DnR Canal via the delaware, yet snakeheads arent caught much nor do we see their impacts.

Im a bit lost with how snakeheads are impactful, in addition dont get much in response from F&W about what they have been monitoring.

Ive caught plenty of bass and sunfish out of the snakehead waters down south where they have had a longer history of a population. I know this isnt a good indicator of how they impact a fishery, but im not sure if F&W has posted any evidence of snakeheads having an impact otherwise.

If anything it has turned South Jersey into a unique fishery for me. If it wasnt for snakeheads, I would have no reason to travel down south.

I still dont understand their impact, dont understand what i'd be doing by killing a few of them amongst a huge population, and dont understand what F&W has in mind for them for the future.

There needs to be more clarity, and until then I dont understand the rule to kill them.

[AndyS]

I have to side with the biologists on this one, listed INVASIVE for a reason, and no it's not a government conspiracy. We INTRODUCE fish into our water ways with careful consideration. As explained to me an INVASIVE fish will DISPLACE the other fish by eating all the food and spawning twice as fast. Yes you caught a bass where snakeheads are but were there more bass there before, have the other fish moved on because of lack of food ? I'm not a fan of these fish nor Flathead catfish, BUT both are good eating.
Some parts of the world brown trout are listed as invasive, maybe the brown trout we introduced became invasive to brook trout, so we never really know. In Round Valley after the lake trout took over the brown trout went nuts looking for food, it was no big deal in the end before the baitfish crashed to cast a live herring out and catch a big brown trout instantly, the browns were starving. The introduction of lake trout was not thought out very well and an INTRODUCED fish became INVASIVE in a way.
It's just humans HOMOGANIZING the earth, by picking things up and putting them down where they don't belong, and it's only going to get worse. Despite all this nature has a way of taking care of things, there is no EXCESS in nature.
I'm torn by this and wish there were more answers.

[jmurr711]

The only fish thats more addictive to target are tog. Largemouth aren't native to our area either

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by jmurr711

The only fish thats more addictive to target are tog. Largemouth aren't native to our area either

Our queen has spoken!

[Lard Almighty]

It doesn't matter. They're here. We can't eat them fast enough.

That being said, for all the dire predictions, I have neither seen nor heard evidence of a collapse of native/endemic fish populations due to snakeheads. A lot of this is media sensationalism.

[AndyS]

I guess if the invasive fish are displacing the introduced fish it's kind of a wash.
To be brutally honest my biggest fear is the Snakeheads and Flatheads find a taste for American Shad in the Delaware river and that whole eco systems collapses. You can't hatchery raise shad unfortunately.

[AndyS]

On May 10th and May 11th, with assistance from NJDEP’s Office of Natural Resource Restoration, the Watershed Institute, and NJDEP’s Watershed Ambassadors, a total of 5 electrofishing surveys were conducted to assess the freshwater fish assemblage related to the dam removal.
• A total of 51 freshwater fish species have been documented in the Millstone River since the monitoring began in the fall of 2016, including 2 species of Special Concern (Comley Shiner
and Shield Darter) and 4 invasive species (Flathead Catfish, Grass Carp, Oriental Weatherfish, and Green Sunfish).

[jmurr711]

I agree with Andy I think the flatheads are a bigger issue

[Ol Pedro]

They taste great! Hope there are more below the skimmer at Prospertown!