Snakeheads

[DanRad]

WASHINGTON - Scientists say the northern snakehead fish seems to be expanding in the Potomac River, which runs along West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle.

Researchers are changing their focus from eradicating the predatory fish to collecting information on how it can co-exist.

The Asian fish have been quickly reproducing, but haven't gobbled up the Potomac's bass population.

Scientists will be watching over the next several weeks to see if there's a repeat of last October's mass migration of snakeheads. That could be a crucial test of the snakehead's growth.

The alien fish may have first shown up as early as 1998 or as late as 2002. Scientists believe a male and a female were dumped in the water and found each other in a Fairfax County creek in Virginia.

Snakeheads have become widespread, showing up in creeks in Maryland, the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C., and tributaries of the Occoquan River in Virginia.

Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
__