It was a fish that could survive on land. Officials in Georgia want you to kill it as soon as you see it.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Agency said it caught a Northern snakehead fish in a pond in Gwennett County earlier this month, the first time the species has been found in Georgia waters.
Matt Thomas, fisheries minister for wildlife resources, said in a statement that the department of fisheries was investigating whether the organism had spread.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, exotic fish can be harmful to native wildlife because they compete with other species and can even replace other species in the water. If the organism succeeds in developing predatory offspring populations, it could alter local food webs and ecosystems, with permanent effects.
Native to East Asia, the northern snakehead was found in pet stores, live fish markets and restaurants in big cities until 2002, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added it to its list of pest wildlife.
According to NISIC's database, the earliest report of this cuspid fish came from Silverwood Lake in San Bernardino County, California, in 1997.
The Wildlife Resources Agency of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said there were also reporting records of northern snakeheads in 14 other states. Invasive fish like this are often brought into the country without permission.
In Georgia, it is illegal to import, transport, sell, transfer and possess any species of snakehead without a wildlife license.
According to the Chesapeake Bay Program, they are able to breathe in the air through lung-like organs. This ability to breathe on land allows them to migrate to disconnected waters.
If kept wet, it can survive on land for up to 4 days, and stay stationary when dry, and survive in the mud continuously.
Fish can grow up to 91 cm and weigh up to 8.1 kg or more.
It is reported to feed on other fish and can also eat small animals such as amphibians, crayfish and even rats.
Officials at the Georgia Wildlife Resources Agency asked anglers to learn to identify and kill smugglers while taking photographs and reporting them to the Fisheries Office of the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
According to research, they can also be made into a nutritious meal.
This article is translated from sciencealert and published by translator majer under the Creative Commons License (BY-NC).