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Maryland Declares Victory
Over Snakehead Fish

9-6-2

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Maryland declared victory over the snakehead fish on Thursday after state game officials dumped poison into a pond to kill the land-crawling predators and prevent them from spreading to other waterways.
 
Snakeheads, which are native to China, grow up to 3 feet long and can slither across land in search of food. They have a voracious appetite and gobble up other fish, frogs and even their own young.
 
Since Rotenone poison was sprayed on Wednesday morning on the four-acre pond in Crofton, Maryland, several hundred 4-inch (10 cm) baby snakeheads have died, said a spokeswoman for Maryland's Department of Natural Resources.
 
"We are pretty hopeful that most of the fish are dead by now," she said.
 
About 800 pounds of dead snakeheads, sunfish, crappies and other gill-breathing critters have been scooped out of the pond so far, including a 19-inch adult snakehead. More dead fish that sank to the bottom of the pond are expected to float to the top in a few days when they start decomposing.
 
The state's use of Rotenone, which blocks oxygen from getting into the fish's blood, has drawn criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. While the animal rights group agreed that the snakeheads should be destroyed, it wanted the state to use a more humane method.
 
The U.S. Interior Department has proposed banning the import and trade of live snakeheads.
 
The snakeheads were dumped into the Maryland pond by a local resident who bought them from a New York City market to make soup for a sick relative. When the relative got better, the unneeded fish were released into the pond and reproduced.
 
 
 
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