While snakeheads commonly attack pets and humans on late night television, our local version is much more likely to terrorize frogs & lizards along a canal bank. If you were to believe many of the media reports and low-budget horror films about snakeheads, we would have a statewide emergency on our hands. Let’s take a look at three of the species that have gained the most attention from anglers in the past few years. Finally, more diminutive critters like the oscar cichlid, jaguar guapote, and mayan cichlid are extremely popular with panfish anglers. In addition, several herbivorous exotics attract fly fishermen including the tambaqui (pacu), grass carp, and various species of tilapia. While the entire list of Florida exotics is immense, the most popular sportfish include the bullseye snakehead, clown knifefish, and butterfly peacock bass. According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) there are over thirty species of non-native naturally reproducing freshwater species present in Florida waterways. A tropical climate, great biodiversity, and a maze of interconnected waterways combine to make Florida a perfect environment for exotic species.
#Snakehead fish florida series
This first article in an occasional series for Onshore/Offshore Magazine will highlight some of the fantastic exotic fishing opportunities the sunshine state has to offer.ĭue to the legal and illegal introduction of non-native fish species, Florida hosts some of the most unique freshwater fishing opportunities available on any one continent. Fishing trips to far-off lands are great adventures, but Florida anglers don’t need to travel far to pursue some of the world’s most exciting freshwater game fish. Some may travel deep into the Amazon basin in search of peacock bass, while others might paddle wooden canoes along a rocky shore in Thailand hunting the elusive snakehead. "I'm sitting here in my office, and I'm looking at a poster of some of Florida's exotic freshwater fishes.Many fishermen will travel halfway around the world in pursuit of a unique species of fish. Robins emphasized that there are more invasive species in Florida than people might realize, pointing to 37 species of non-native fish from other countries as an example. “At least based upon that population in southeast Florida, they don't seem to be champion dispersers and colonizers of vast areas of Florida like some of these other fish have done.” “Here we are, 23 odd years later, and there are snakeheads in Broward, Miami-Dade, in West Palm Beach County, they didn't spread throughout the entire state,” said Robert Robins, the ichthyology manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History. The fish has also been an invasive species in Broward County for over 20 years - but it's not like the snakehead is going to take over Florida. The appearance of the goldline snakehead on Florida's west coast is believed to be due to humans introducing the fish to the area. Geological Survey The goldline snakehead fish and a number of other non-native species were taken from a pond in Manatee County in May 2021.
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