US wildlife officials warn public to kill 'land-dwelling' fish on sight

The northern snakehead fish has been spotted in Georgia waters. Photo / US Geological Survey Archive

Wildlife officials in the US are urging people to cut the head off any "snake fish" they come across.

The invasive snakehead fish can grow to almost a metre in length and live on land.

It has surfaced in the US state of Georgia for the first time, prompting officials to release information telling people how to kill it, as a measure of animal control.

A denizen of China's Yangtze River basin, the northern snakehead has been spotted and caught in a private pond in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month.

Northern snakehead are bad news. And for the first time, the invasive fish has been confirmed in Georgia waters. If...

Posted by Wildlife Resources Division - Georgia DNR on Wednesday, 9 October 2019

"We are now taking steps to determine if they have spread from this water body and, hopefully, keep it from spreading to other Georgia waters," Matt Thomas, chief of fisheries for the DNR's Wildlife Resources Division, said, according to the New York Post.

The snakehead is a voracious hunter and has no natural predators in North America.

The invasive fish has the potential to displace local wildlife by taking their food sources and habitat.

They can survive on land for days at a time because they are able to breathe air.

Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division posted a notice on its Facebook page urging fishermen to "immediately kill and freeze any suspected snakeheads as well as snap photos of their quarry".

Fishers are also urged to note where the snakehead was caught and report the find to officials.