View Single Post
  #5   Report Post  
Old 30-04-2004, 12:04 PM
Remydog
 
Posts: n/a
Default Just When You Think It's Safe...

This is like environmental terrorism.

"Jim" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 14:20:30 GMT, Bonnie
wrote:

They said it was the same pond that was sprayed the
last time - aparently they didn't get all of the
snakeheads!


This fish was caught in a lake several miles from the pond where the
six adult and thousand or so juveniles were found.

Here's a more complete story on the discovery (lifted from AOL)

---
WHEATON, Md. (April 29) - Authorities plan to drain a Maryland lake
after an angler caught a Northern snakehead, the same voracious
nonnative fish that infested a pond only miles away in 2002.

State officials said the 19-inch fish, an Asian species that can
wriggle on land for short distances and eats so many smaller fish it
can destroy an ecosystem, was pulled out of Pine Lake in Wheaton
Regional Park Monday afternoon.

The lake north of Washington, D.C., feeds a tributary of the Anacostia
River, which empties into the Potomac River.

State biologists used electric shocks Tuesday to try to get a rise out
of any other snakeheads, but none appeared. Wire mesh was placed over
a pipe that leads out of the lake to prevent any others from escaping.
Draining of the lake could begin as early as Thursday, officials said.

The caught fish is believed to be about 4 years old, but how long it
was in the lake, how it got there and whether it is male or female is
not known, said Steve Early, assistant fisheries director for the
Department of Natural Resources.

Early said the state does not foresee a serious environmental threat,
because only one snakehead was found and it's not spawning season for
the fish.

The snakehead was most likely dumped into the lake by its owner, Early
said.

In the summer of 2002, snakeheads were found breeding in a private
pond in Crofton, about 20 miles east of Wheaton. More than 1,000
juvenile snakeheads and six adults were recovered when state officials
poisoned the pond and two others to keep the fish from spreading.

All the Crofton fish were traced to a Maryland man who discarded two
fish after buying them live in a New York market.

That episode prompted the state to pass a law allowing the state to
inspect private properties for invasive species and take action to
contain them.

In 2002, the Department of the Interior banned the import of 28
species of snakehead, including the Northern variety, according to a
spokesman.

04/29/04 01:19 EDT
---

Jim
Zone 8a - Dallas, Texas
Pond, Veggie Filter, Pond Maintenance & Pond Tour Pics:
http://community.webshots.com/user/dallas75248