Northern snakeheads threaten Missouri waterways, biologists warn
Many people are familiar with invasive Asian carp, which reside in Missouri waterways. However, not many people are familiar with the northern snakehead, which could pose issues for local waterways heading into the future.
The northern snakehead is a fish that was first introduced to the eastern U.S. around 2004, but has increased its population across the southern U.S. ever since.
Dave Knuth is a fisheries biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation and explains the migration of northern snakeheads, "So they're moving their way up from northeastern Arkansas, and we found our first northern snakehead in 2019 in Missouri. Ever since that first discovery, populations have increased across southern Missouri. So we're seeing that expansion and explosion of the of the species in the state."
The northern snakehead sticks out to many for its unique ability to survive out of water for multiple days. Dave Knuth, "They can live up to 5 to 7 days out of water, as long as they stay moist." The worry for northern snakehead fish in Missouri is that our local temperatures are more suitable to that of their native habitats in Asia. This means that this fish could potentially thrive in local waterways out competing native species like that seen in other ecosystems where this fish has already taken over across the southern U.S.
These fish are known also to be hardy with surviving drought, but the main worry comes to their expansion due to above average rainfall. Dave Knuth explains, "I think they capitalize on that flooding and they do spawn in in in shallow vegetated areas, not in the main stem rivers, out of the flow."
Localized flooding could cause rapid increases in the expansion of this invasive species, spreading further concern. MDC's guidance says it's illegal to possess any of these fish, so you don't want to put them back in the waterways if you catch them and make sure you report them online at https://mdc.mo.gov/fishing/protect-missouri-fishing/snakehead-fish-reporting
