A team of technicians at the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River in Maryland recently prevented 3,000 invasive fish from entering Chesapeake Bay, according to Chesapeake Bay Magazine.
The fish were removed from a fish lift, described as a "water-filled elevator" that is used to help migrating native fish make it past the dam to their upstream spawning grounds. The fish lift also doubles as a trap for invasive species, allowing technicians to go in and remove anything that isn't supposed to be there — primarily northern snakeheads but also species like blue catfish and flathead catfish.
The removed fish were taken to Maryland seafood wholesaler J.J. McDonnell to be processed, with many donated to local food banks.
Despite their less-than-appealing name, northern snakeheads are edible — Outdoor Life even said they "might be the most delicious freshwater fish of all time."
To make the snakehead more appealing to consumers, efforts are underway to rename it the "Chesapeake channa." Similar rebranding efforts have worked with other fish, most notably the Patagonian toothfish that was successfully renamed Chilean sea bass despite being neither from Chile nor a bass.
A similar effort is also underway to rename the invasive Asian carp as "copi," although in that case the major hurdle may not be the name so much as the fish's unappetizing appearance.
Whatever the various species end up being called, experts are increasingly urging people to eat more invasive species as a method of population control. These include crayfish in the United Kingdom, Midas cichlids in the Philippines, lionfish in Bermuda, and devil fish in Texas, Florida, and Mexico.
As many within the movement have already said, "If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em."
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