Snakeheads First Appeared In Crofton, Continue To Damage Area

CROFTON, MD — In 2002, the first snakehead to invade Maryland was found in a Crofton pond. In eight years, the "frankenfish" had managed to make its way to the Delmarva Peninsula. Since then, it has managed to colonize in most major Chesapeake Bay tributaries and causes trouble everywhere it goes.

To help combat snakeheads, more than 100 fishermen participated in a snakehead "derby" on Maryland's eastern shore this summer to help eradicate this invasive species from the Chesapeake Bay region. A native of Asia, the snakehead has no natural predators in the area. In fact, research that concluded in May 2019 has proven that snakeheads can drastically damage the Chesapeake ecosystem, scientists believe, the Salisbury Independent reported.