The "A Snake In A Fish Body" Story

My dad and I are fishing along the Elk River, Maryland.

It was an ordinary day.  August of 1958 and I'm sitting on the dock of my Aunt Doris' Elk River cottage in Maryland with my dad.  I'm fishing while my dad is enjoying the view up and down the Elk River.  Then, something grabbed the worm and took off.  About five minutes later I pulled an ugly, slimey, snakelike American eel onto the dock.  Fish are tough enough to get off the hook, but an eel is almost impossible since they are hard to grab hold of to remove the hook.  

I'm removing a catfish from my line.

Add about twenty years to that and I am once again fishing on the Elk River with my friend Gary and our children.  One of us hooks a Channel Catfish which is about two feet in length and perhaps eight to ten pounds.  This time I remove the ugly looking fish with a deeply-forked caudal fin and remove it from the hook.  Place it in the water tank we have in the boat to take back to our cottage for Gary's wife to skin and eat.  Stories like this have been happening to many while fishing along the Chesapeake and Delaware Rivers for years.  But, today there is one additional fish that is causing quite a stir in rivers on Maryland's Eastern Shore.  Seems the fish known as the Snakehead, or to many as  "Frankenfish", has infiltrated the waters of the rivers and they are killing many other species or eating the food of other fish, forcing them to move to other locations.  

The Snakehead fish or "Frankenfish"

I have never caught a Snakehead, but they look really ugly with a mouthful of crooked teeth and a snarly look on their face.  There used to be plenty of perch, crappie and catfish in the rivers, but their population has declined since the snakehead, which grows to 3 feet long, either eats them, eats their food or muscles them out of their preferred habitat.  And, to top that, they are eating the eels as well as shad.  Disturbing studies have been done that is worrying fish management groups.  The river that flows along the western border of Lancaster County, the Susquehanna, does not have a problem with the snakefish...yet!  But, it may be only a matter of time.  So, how did these fish find their way into the waters of the rivers and streams that I have enjoyed since childhood?  

Another view of the Snakehead fish.

Originally the fish was brought into the country from Africa and Asia for sale in live fish  markets.  Some evidently escaped the markets and found their way into the waters of many rivers in the country.  And, they are prolific breeders with a female fish releasing up to 15,000 eggs in two years.  It can grow to about 3 feet in length and up to 18 pounds.  They can move over land for short distances by wriggling motions and live outside of water for several days.  It is a freshwater fish that cannot tolerate salinity in excess of 10 parts per million.  On the Susquehanna River, it is hoped the four hydroelectric dams will keep snakeheads from moving too far north.  Last year in Maryland there was a snakehead "derby" to try and lower the snakefish population.  And, just in case you may want to have one for your home aquarium,  they are illegal to own!  My fishing days are more than likely over so I am not affected by the fish that has plenty of teeth.  Can't imagine how hard it must be to get one of them off a hook.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Mutant That Can Clone Itself" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My brother Steve and I were talking about the times we would head to our Uncle Bob's family farm near Strasburg, Pennsylvania for summer picnics.  After dad would park the car, we would head toward the small stream at the edge of the farm to hunt for crayfish.  Shed the socks and sneakers and walk through the cool water, turning over rock after rock hoping that under one of them we would uncover the elusive crayfish.  Those were the best of times when we were carefree kids.  Times that will remain with us for a lifetime.  For many of you, these crustaceans might be referred to as crawfish.  One way or another, they still look the same and are fun to catch.  

The good ole crayfish.

They can be held in the palm of your hand, but beware, they do have pinchers that can give you a good pinch and perhaps draw blood.  There are over 330 species of crayfish that are found in the east and southeast part of North America.  Recently I read of a new species of mutant crayfish that can clone itself.  It's called the marbled crawfish and it is spreading all over the globe.  

The marbled crawfish.

A German biologist at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg is studying the 6-inch crawfish and says it is one of the most remarkable species known to man.  25 years ago it didn't exist until one mutation in a single crawfish produced the marbled crawfish in an instant.  The mutation made it possible for the crawfish to clone itself and now it has spread throughout Europe.  It arrived in Madagascar in 2007 and now numbers in the millions and is threatening native species of crayfish.  The mutant species is much larger than previous crayfish and it can lay enormous batches of eggs numbering in the hundreds.  And the crawfish doesn't need to mate.  All of the marbled crawfish are female and each grow up and reproduce.  They are making clones of themselves!  And, they are spreading rapidly.  Should we be worried?  I haven't found an answer to that question yet, but if they take over the streams and lakes all over the world, they may do the same thing that the lionfish is doing throughout the world.  

The scary and venomous lionfish.

The lionfish is a predator with venomous spines and has invaded Caribbean coral reefs and is eating native species.  They came to the Carribean from an aquarium release off the coast of Florida in the early 1990s.  Many are hoping they can be controlled before they make other species of fish extinct.  

The scary snakefish.

A few years ago while snorkeling I saw a few of them and they are pretty scary.  Decided to call it quits after seeing them, since I have no idea what they can to to humans.  And then, in the newspaper a few days ago, was a story about the snakefish who have now been found in local freshwater streams and lakes.  The are elongated, predatory fish that look like snakes.  They breathe air with gills which allow them to migrate short distances over land.  They can totally take over a stream by eating all the natural food that other species of fish would eat.  These fish look scary to me, so I can see why smaller fish may fear them. At least, I can handle the marbled crayfish!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.