"If you find that you have caught a northern snakehead, do not release it. Kill it immediately. Remember, it can survive on land."
That is the instruction issued by the Department of Natural Resources of the US state of Georgia.
A hungry predator
The northern snakehead is long and slender, with a strangely flat head. It is a highly effective predator with an endless appetite, devouring everything from other species of fish to frogs and crabs.
It can grow to around 80 centimetres long. It can even breathe and move about out of water, which is why it can travel from one body of water to another.
Once the fish reaches a new place, its spread is hard to stop. Female snakeheads lay up to 10,000 eggs a year.
How it reached America
The snakehead is native mainly to China, Russia and Korea. It was first found in the United States about a decade ago, and since then four species of snakehead have been identified in America.
US authorities say the fish was originally released into American waters mainly for rearing.
Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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