Snakehead fry spells trouble in the Potomac River

WASHINGTON — The latest northern snakehead fish found in the Potomac River may be the most significant yet: It's a baby, 3 inches long and proof that the Asian predator is breeding in native waters, scientists say.

With that discovery last week in Alexandria, Va., biologists now say the snakehead will be nearly impossible to eradicate and could drive out other Potomac wildlife.

"The snakeheads are in charge," said Walter Courtenay Jr., an expert with the U.S. Geological Survey.

The northern snakehead, a native of China and Korea, is a voracious predator that can grow several feet long. In 2002 a pair were found in a Crofton, Md., pond, along with thousands of young, and the pond was poisoned to kill the fish.

This summer, anglers caught 19 adult snakeheads in the Potomac and its tributaries. Scientists aren't sure where the first Potomac snakeheads came from, but they say it's likely they were imported for food, then dumped.

Scientists had held out hope because, despite weeks of intense searching, no juvenile snakeheads had been found.

That changed Wednesday, when Alexandria resident Jack Ferris noticed a fish he called "a spittin' image" in miniature of a snakehead.

Ferris took the fish, which he nicknamed Skippy, home in a bottle and called Virginia authorities.

On Friday, it was confirmed: Skippy was a snakehead that probably hatched this summer in the creek, a Potomac tributary.

Knowing snakeheads lay a massive amount of eggs, scientists reasoned there are likely hundreds or thousands more juvenile fish in the river.

"Eradication, then, is not going to happen," said Julia Dixon, a spokeswoman for the Virginia agency. "We're going to have to manage them."

Many worry the snakehead's victims might include the largemouth bass. The Potomac is known nationally as a bass fishery, with about 60 fishing tournaments a year in Charles County, Md., alone.

"This is one of the top five bass fisheries in the country. It is not just another fishing hole," said Steve Chaconas, 48, of Stratford Landing, Va., who guides bass fishing trips on the Potomac.