Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

A study conducted by Maryland Department of Natural Resources Biologist Dr. Joseph Love illuminates one of the biological factors that could be contributing to Chesapeake Channa’s efficient spread through Maryland’s waters. The study, published in the July 2024 edition of Northeastern Naturalist, found that the majority of female Chesapeake Channa, also known as northern snakehead, collected from the upper Chesapeake Bay carried eggs in two distinct sizes, suggesting those fish could spawn twice a year.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Maryland's commercial harvesters and fisheries managers are collaborating to preserve the commercial fisheries of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Innovative management and marketing techniques are being brought together to energize the commercial fishing industry. Commercial landings for invasive fishes include blue catfish and northern snakeheads. Learn more about becoming a commercial harvester and making money on selling invasive fishes. Commercial fishing has expanded to include invasive fishes, which are highly palatable and ones that Marylanders hope can be harvested at levels that minimize their ecological impacts to the natural resources we want to protect.

The Office of Governor Wes Moore (Maryland).

Governor Wes Moore is calling on the federal government to declare the expanding population of invasive fish species—including blue catfish, flathead catfish, and snakehead—to be an ongoing commercial fishery disaster in the Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The governor sent a letter [Mar 2023; PDF, 2.4 MB] to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo requesting the declaration under provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act. The declaration would qualify Maryland for federal fishery disaster assistance.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The short story of invasive fishes in Maryland.
See also: Report an aquatic invasive using Maryland Invasive Species Tracker (MIST); tool for the public to help the state track invasive species in its waterways.

Nature Conservancy.

Advanced tools help our scientists detect native and invasive species in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

DOI. USGS. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.

Provides detailed collection information as well as animated map.

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Northern snakeheads can be confused with native Pennsylvania species like the Bowfin and Burbot. For help telling them apart, refer to various identification guides.

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) has issued a strong advisory to encourage anglers who catch invasive Northern Snakeheads in the lower Susquehanna River, and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, to report and dispose of any fish caught. This advisory follows multiple Northern Snakehead captures in Conowingo Reservoir by anglers and natural resource agency biologists this summer, including the first evidence of Northern Snakehead reproduction in the reservoir.

DOI. USGS. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.

U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1251; Researched and funded by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Thousands of invasive fish have been removed from the Chesapeake Bay watershed at the Conowingo Dam earlier this year and donated to local food banks through a continuing partnership between Maryland Department of Natural Resources and others. During the 2024 season, which ran from March to June, more than 18,000 pounds of invasive fish (blue catfish, flathead catfish, and northern snakehead) were removed from Maryland waters.