River Monsters, the Animal Planet series

**Brooktrout** · 05-11-2010, 09:43 AM

hey, does anyone watch the animal planet series "river monsters"? cool show.
on sunday night's episode they showed how a type of aggressive, invasive species known as snakeheads are heading into our river systems and could devastate cold water fisheries. and there does not seem to be anything being done about it. we could be seeing the beginning of a catastrophe for trout fisheries. any comments?

**soupmix** · 05-11-2010, 10:21 AM

They can crawl out of the water! :shock: I guess if you catch one, don't throw it on the bank it can just crawl right back!

**axle27** · 05-11-2010, 10:56 AM

Before I did anything, I'd kill it. Poste haste. THen, depending on WHERE I caught it, I would notify the local DNR. In some places, they want to know how many and where. It give valuable research. Other places already know and just want you to kill it.

I always thought it might be cool to put a bowfin and a snakehead in a tank and see what happens.

**Sean** · 05-12-2010, 05:56 PM

not just cold water. there are several species which could devastate almost all of north america.

and yes i watch the show. and also have a degree in fisheries biology.

**Brooktrout** · 05-13-2010, 01:20 PM

kill them, i heard that.

so what can be done about these nasty things? could they really be a major threat to cold water fisheries?

**Fly Chef** · 05-13-2010, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by Brooktrout

kill them, i heard that.

so what can be done about these nasty things? could they really be a major threat to cold water fisheries?

One species is a major threat to coldwater fisheries. I saw the show also and they mentioned at least 3 different types, one of which can handle cold water - and trout are nice soft food.

**troutrageous1** · 05-14-2010, 08:21 AM

To answer you first question, yes, River Monsters is a very cool show...I try to remember to watch when I can.
He does go after some serious nasties.

As for snakeheads...very interesting fish, and evidently quite the Asian delicacy. Hence their (illegal) presence in the US. Not sure what the solution is to contain/control them, or if they are really as big a threat as TV makes them out to be. It's something I'd like to do more research on (like the Great Lakes carp dilemma in the news these days) before I voice an opinion.

Here's a bit National Geographic did a few years ago to fill in some of the holes for folks that don't know what we're talking about:
[youtube:32x0y1p5]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmU7etSYYqI[/youtube:32x0y1p5]