Proceedings of the First International Snakehead Symposium

About this book

Snakeheads, fishes of the family Channidae, are native to Asia where they are cherished as food fishes and featured in aquaculture and as targets for recreational and artisanal fishers. In North America, they are among the most controversial of fishes. In part because of their fear-inspiring name and their toothy pictures, snakeheads have attracted media attention and produced alarm among the populace. To date, the effects of the snakehead invasion have not largely substantiated those early fears. However, without a doubt, snakeheads are excellent colonizers. They will persist in most of their current locations while they invade new habitat types, and they will encounter new species assemblages as their range expands.

To advance the science and understanding of snakeheads, and to promote discussion of how snakehead management should proceed, the First International Snakehead Symposium was held in July 2018. Proceedings of the First International Snakehead Symposium presents information presented at that symposium, including new science on snakehead diets and other aspects of biology and ecology, current species distributions and histories of invasion, along with descriptions of snakehead management and control efforts in locations inside and outside the continental USA. The book also reviews the breadth of opinion and attitudes among scientists, recreational fishers, and bow fishers in regard to these fish.

This book belongs on the shelf of fisheries scientists, invasion biologists, fisheries managers, and those interested in the harvest or control of this interesting and controversial fish.

Contents

SECTION I: Distribution
- Snakehead Fishes (Channa spp.) in the USA (Amy J. Benson)
- Spatiotemporal Patterns and Dispersal Mechanisms of Northern Snakehead in Virginian (Aaron J. Bunch, John S. Odenkirk, Mike W. Isel, and Robert C. Boyce)
- A History and Distribution of Northern Snakehead in Arkansas (Jimmy Barnett)

SECTION II: Biology/Ecology
- Proposed Standard-Weight (Ws) Equation and Size Structure Indices for Northern Snakehead (Hae H. Kim, Jason A. Emmel, and Quinton E. Phelps)
- Growth and Energy Budget of Northern Snakehead in Relation to Ration (Jiashou Liu, Tangling Zhang, and Duane C. Chapman)
- Diel Feeding and Movement Activity of Northern Snakehead (Nicolas W. R. Lapointe, Ryan K. Saylor, and Paul L. Angermeier)
- Evaluation of Northern Snakehead Diets in Virginia’s Tidal Rivers and Lakes (Mike W. Isel and John S. Odenkirk)

SECTION III: Monitoring/Response
- Large-Scale Predictions of Northern Snakehead Range Expansion Using Maximum Entropy Modeling (Shannon C. F. Smith, Micah Tindall, Justin Homan, and Steve E. Lochmann)
- Environmental DNA (eDNA) Detection of Nonnative Bullseye Snakehead in Southern Florida (Margaret E. Hunter, Pamela J. Schofield, Gaia Meigs-Friend, Mary E. Brown, and Jason A. Ferrante)

SECTION IV: Management/Control
- Fishing for an Invasive: Maryland’s Toolbox for Managing Northern Snakehead Fisheries (Joseph W. Love and Paul Genovese)
- Marginal Increment Analysis of Northern Snakehead Otoliths (Quinton E. Phelps, Hae H. Kim, Catherine Lim and John S. Odenkirk)
- Effects of Fishing on Select Populations of Northern Snakehead in the Potomac River (Joshua J. Newhard, John S. Odenkirk, and Luke Lyon)
- Management Implications from a Stock-Recruit Model for Northern Snakehead in Virginia Waters of the Tidal Potomac River (Michael H. Hoff and John S. Odenkirk)
 
SECTION V: Perspectives
- Historical Review of Snakeheads in Japan (Katsuki Nakai)
- Socrates Opens a Pandora’s Box of Northern Snakehead Issues (Donald J. Orth)

SECTION VI: Symposium Abstracts and Panel Transcript
- Symposium Abstracts
- Snakehead Symposium Panel Discussion

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