This is stolen from another poster at another forum I frequent. Thought the story was unbelievable and felt like sharing.
Killer fish terrifies Britain
A SAVAGE fish that eats everything it comes across, including people, has been hooked by a British fisherman — sparking fears of a deadly invasion.
The giant snakehead, originating from South-East Asia, has a mouth crammed with teeth.
It’s deadly in the water, but it can also “crawl” on land and survive out of water for up to four days.
The discovery of the fish in Linconshire, northern England, has caused widespread panic amongst conservationists and anglers.
An Environment Agency source told the Sun: “The reaction was, ‘Oh s***’. This is the ultimate invasive species - if it starts breeding here it’s a disaster.”
Andy Alder caught the snakehead in the River Witham while using a sprat as bait for pike. He told the Sun: “It had a gob full of razor-sharp teeth. To be honest it looked terrifying.”
It is believed the fish may have been smuggled in for an aquarium and illegally released
These are pretty nasty fish and they have environmentalists and conservationists concerned all over the U.S. I just saw a show on Discovery about these things. You don't want them in your fisheries, that's what I understood.
The link to the first article doesn't work. In your quote of the article it says that snakeheads can eat people which is absolutely false AFAIK?? If anyone has evidence to the contrary I'd like to see it.
Maine has a good swing for a pitcher but on anything that moves, he has no chance. And if it's a fastball, it has to be up in the zone. Basically, the pitcher has to hit his bat. - Mike Pelfrey
Amazinz wrote:The link to the first article doesn't work. In your quote of the article it says that snakeheads can eat people which is absolutely false AFAIK?? If anyone has evidence to the contrary I'd like to see it.
I read that they could grow up to 5 ft. long but it's from Wikipedia after all. More likely than not, it sounds like an exaggeration that they can eat people but are aggressive enough to bite you. Supposedly, in that part of Asia, people raise these fish to fight other snakeheads.
The links didn't work for me either yesterday. The idea that snipers are picking off the snakeheads as they head to shore sound like something out of Monty Python.
That question-and-answer session from the link I posted says a few interesting things that make me far less concerned. First, it says that they raise these things in Asia to eat, and that they were brought to North America for that purpose. Second, it says that they have used large-mouth bass to control snakefish because the LMB prey on them. If bass eat these fish, they can't be that bad. Finally, it says that they only bite you if you mess with their nests. This jives with the show I watched a few days ago, where the Asian dude who got bit lives in a house on poles over the lake/river and the snakehead lives right under his house. The guy got chomped reasonably good, but nothing worse than a small dog bite.
So the big worry seems to be the biological impact on native species, and while that's a concern and something to think about, the same concern exists for large-mouth bass when they show up in non-native areas, and nobody is afraid of bass.
They are legal to sell and own in NC (or at least were a couple of years ago). My brother-in-law owned a pair. I can't imagine they are that dangerous to the environment. Both of those articles sound like BS to me. I doubt you need a high-powered rifle to take them out.
Maine has a good swing for a pitcher but on anything that moves, he has no chance. And if it's a fastball, it has to be up in the zone. Basically, the pitcher has to hit his bat. - Mike Pelfrey
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by JRM4833 » Wed Feb 20, 2008 5:57 pm 
