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ENVIRONMENT REPORT - August 9, 2002: US Proposes
Ban on Snakehead Fish
By Cynthia Kirk
This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.
American Interior Secretary Gale Norton has
proposed a ban on importing and selling twenty-eight kinds of fish known
as the snakehead. Experts say the fish is a threat to the environment
because it eats other fish, plants and animals.
The snakehead fish is native to the Yangtze River in China. It has appeared
in at least seven American states. It can grow to be almost one meter
long. The snakehead can breathe air and can stay out of the water for
as many as three days. The fish can leave the water and move across
land to find food in other bodies of water.
The snakehead has a wide mouth, sharp teeth
and powerful jaws. Some people say it looks like a snake抯 head. The
fish can swallow other large fish. It also eats small animals, including
frogs, birds and mammals. Biologists say the snakehead has no known
enemies.
Snakeheads are usually sold in fish markets
or in pet stores in the United States. They are known for their excellent
taste.
In May, a northern snakehead was discovered
in a small lake in Crofton, Maryland. A local man has since admitted
that he put two snakeheads into the pond two years ago. He said he had
bought the fish from a market in New York City. At first, he was going
to cook the fish and eat them, but he later decided not to do this.
Biologists recently caught about one-hundred baby snakeheads in the
pond in Crofton. They fear that hundreds more may be in the water. If
the fish escape from the pond, they could move to the Little Patuxent
River, about seventy meters away. Scientists fear the fish could kill
the wildlife in the river.
A group of scientists decided that the fish
had to be killed before this could happen. After several tests, they
decided that poisoning the pond with chemicals was the best way to kill
the snakeheads.
The northern snakehead is only one of many kinds
of snakeheads. But it is of most concern because it is the only kind
that can survive through winters. Other species require warmer climates
for survival.
Snakeheads also have been discovered in Hawaii,
Florida, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. But Maryland
is the only state where reproduction of the species has been confirmed.
This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT
was written by Cynthia Kirk.
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