World Record Snakehead Caught in Potomac River
The Potomac is a big river. Really big. It stretches from the mountains of West Virginia all the way to the Chesapeake Bay and it has scores of minor tributaries. And this river has some really big fish. I used to jetski on one of the tributaries and floating dead fish and fish washed up on shore were sometimes three feet in length. And with the Snakehead invasion, it is only expected that they will also reach enormous size on the Potomac. World Record size in fact.
From WTOP here:
A stunning new world record may have been set in the D.C. area.
A northern snakehead fish, which some people call “Frankenfish,” was pulled out of a tributary of the Potomac River by a Woodbridge man. The fish, which isn’t supposed to live in the D.C. area, weighed in at more than 18 pounds.
The current world record, set in Japan in 2004, is 17 pounds, 4 ounces.
The fish is an invasive species that has only been seen in the area within the past 10 years. However, fears that the snakehead will harm native species in the Potomac haven’t panned out.
“They’re getting bigger and bigger, while at the same time we’re not really noticing a significant change in other fish populations,” says Chaconas. “Whether it’s bass or crappie or any of the yellow perch. So they seem to be coexisting pretty well.”
Good news that they aren’t decimating the local fisheries as first thought. But Maryland is still giving away 200 dollar gift cards to Bass Pro shops for anglers who catch snakeheads.
I saw where restaurants are being encouraged to serve Snakehead dishes, the thinking being that if the meat becomes a commodity, then the profit motive will drive their harvest better than any suggestion by government. I heard it tastes pretty good.