Officials with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) are reminding anglers to avoid releasing a rare invasive species into the water if they catch the fish.
Northern snakeheads are native to Asia and can grow up to 3 feet in length, according to the SCDNR.
Sightings of this predatory fish have also been reported in Georgia, Missouri, California, Hawaii and Maryland. and Virginia.
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Authorities have stressed that it is a top predator and that “its introduction poses a substantial threat to native fish populations.”
Ross Self, freshwater fisheries section chief for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), said in an emailed statement to Fox News Digital: “There have been no documented sightings of northern snakehead in Caroline from the south have been reported since some were found in small numbers in private ponds in Georgia and North Carolina in 2019.
The northern snakehead, the SCDNR said, is a top predatory fish and “its introduction poses a substantial threat to native fish populations.” (Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)/Katrina Thornton)
“The only snakehead ever seen in South Carolina was one that was intentionally turned over to SCDNR 15 years ago by a gentleman from Lake City who had kept it in an aquarium,” Self said.
He said the warning issued by the SCDNR in 2019 remains the same: “If anglers catch one, destroy it.”
The SCDNR advises fishermen who catch fish to bring it back, “keep the fish, (then) freeze it or place it on ice and contact the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.”
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When taking photos of a snakehead, include “close-ups of its mouth, fins and tail, and note where it was captured (body of water, landmarks or GPS coordinates),” the agency also advised.
Snakehead fish are able to breathe out of water and can move short distances on land, experts said.
The northern snakehead arrived in the United States when aquarium owners released their unwanted captive exotics into local waterways. The species can spread by swimming underwater and is able to breathe out of water to travel short distances on land, according to New York Invasive Species Information. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“The northern snakehead is believed to have entered the United States when aquarium owners dumped their unwanted captive exotic species into local waterways,” the New York Invasive Species Information (IS) reported online.
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“Snakehead fish spawn during the summer months (June to August),” the IS website states.
He said there was no complete understanding of the snakehead’s reproductive cycle.
Regarding the northern snakehead, the SCNR advises anglers to “kill it immediately (remember it can survive on land) and freeze it, take pictures of the fish, including close-ups of its mouth, fins and tail, and note where it was caught (body of water, landmarks or GPS coordinates).” (SCDNR)
Snakehead fish species have been added to the list harmful fauna under the Lacey Act in 2002.
The Lacey Act prohibits the transport, possession or importation of certain fish, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
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In South Carolina, it is illegal to possess, transport, or sell live snakeheads.
Self said South Carolina’s native fish, a bowfin, looks similar to snakeheads, and anglers have sent SCDNR photos of bowfin from anglers who thought they had caught a snakehead.
He said he is asking fishermen not to persecute native bowfins just because they look like snakeheads.
Sightings of northern snakehead have been reported in Georgia, Missouri, California, Hawaii, Maryland, and Virginia. Pictured right is a snakehead swimming in Missouri waters. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)/Katrina Thornton)
In May, for only the fourth time in the state of Missouri, an angler caught a northern snakehead, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reported.
The MDC has advised fishermen not to release Fish or throw it along the bank.
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Instead, fishermen should photograph the fish so that authorities can positively identify the species and note where it was caught.
Sydney Borchers of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
