(Originally published July 2002)
Variously described as "alien monsters," "the stuff of nightmares," and "something from a bad horror movie," they are said to eat human flesh and attack without provocation. They are considered such a serious threat to the national welfare that officials have proposed banning the so-called "vicious predators" entirely from American shores.
No, we're not talking about lawless corporate executives. The reviled species du jour is channa argus or "northern snakehead fish," a freshwater-dwelling meat-eater native to southeast Asia and found unexpectedly proliferating in a Maryland pond in 2002. The unsightly creature, dubbed "Frankenfish" by the media, walks on dry land and can reputedly survive out of water for as long as three days.
Americans seem to find the idea of a walking fish particularly disturbing — why, I don't know. Perhaps it smacks too much of evolution, another item high on our list of Dangerous Things That Must Be Banned.
Snakehead soup
What's ironic is that even as scientists plotted to exterminate the fearsome beast in Maryland, large-scale artificial breeding projects were underway in China and neighboring countries to meet a growing demand for snakehead meat throughout Asia, where it's valued as both a soup ingredient and a folk remedy. Singapore alone imports more than 1,200 tons of northern snakehead a year. Locals there, who prize it in noodle dishes and wound-healing salves, are said to be "amused" by the outbreak of snakehead fish hysteria in the United States.
Even homegrown fish experts balk. In reality, they say, the northern snakehead fish can only survive out of water for a few hours; its "walk" is really more of a wriggle; it's known for being rather sedentary in its natural habitat and doesn't wander far; and it won't eat your pets, let alone you.
'More Hollywood than science'
Not that its presence doesn't pose an environmental problem — it does, like that of many other non-native species taking root in the U.S. It's just that the humble snakehead has suffered more than its fair share of media hype and bureaucratic zeal since its discovery here.
"This has been more Hollywood than science," complained a Florida fish and wildlife official in Time magazine.
That's what I'm saying. Think "Jaws" for the New Millennium.
