Chesapeake Channa adults were first documented in Maryland, thousands of miles from their native habitat in East Asia in 2002. Subsequent illegal introductions and natural dispersal in the decades since their arrival in Maryland expanded the species range. A new study by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources confirms the negative impact this invasive species has on other fish and the ecosystem. A comparison of fish communities in the Blackwater River drainage near Cambridge before and after the introduction of non-native Chesapeake Channa, also known as northern snakehead, found lower relative abundances for 19 of 22 resident species observed, resulting in differences in community structure and biodiversity after the introduction. Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Dr. Joe Love, and co-authors Joshua J. Newhard and Meghan Walker, published their findings in the online early edition of the Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management in November 2024. Since their arrival, Chesapeake Channa have colonized an average of three new Chesapeake Bay subwatersheds per year, according to a 2018 study by Love and Newhard. “We know that this is an opportunistic, predatory species that could impact native fish populations, but before this study, whether their predation has changed the composition of aquatic […]
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