WASHINGTON - A land-walking snakehead fish that has turned up in state after state across the US is described as "something from a bad horror movie".
The freshwater snakehead has a voracious appetite, often consuming all other fish in a lake or pond and even eating its own young. It can
slither across land, staying out of water for up to three days, to find new sources of food.
"These fish are like something from a bad horror movie," Interior Secretary Gale Norton told reporters as she announced a proposal to prohibit the import or sale across state lines of 28 species of the snakehead.
Snakeheads can eat almost any small animal and reproduce quickly. They were originally imported by someone who wanted to use them for soup.
"They have the potential to cause enormous damage to our valuable recreational and commercial fisheries. We must do everything we can to prevent them from entering our waters, either accidentally or intentionally," said Gale Norton.
They had even attacked people in China who got too close to nesting areas, she said.
The snakehead's natural habitat is in freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers in Asia and Africa.
Thankfully, they have natural predators: smaller snakeheads are eaten by bigger fish, while the full-grown, 1m snakehead is consumed by crocodiles and alligators.
Snakeheads have been found in seven states so far: Hawaii, Florida, California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
- REUTERS
nzherald.co.nz/environment
