[aa3jy]

May substitute your favorite fish dinner..

Maryland seeks to lure anglers to join 'Frankenfish' battle

...or local cuisine chefs need to revise their menu

 

[travlin-easy]

The Frankenfish, which is really a snakefish, has been around for more than a decade, shortly after it was introduced into a southern Maryland pond by someone dumping their aquarium. The fish made it's way to the Potomac River and beyond, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources spent millions try to erradicate the species, but to no avail. Now, they hope to control their numbers by setting up fishing tournaments, essentially placing a bounty on the species head. The meat of the snakefish is snow white, firm, very sweet and juicy. It was served in New York restaurants as a delicacy for many years, and the fish were kept in large aquariums in the restaurants for customers to select the particular fish they wanted for supper that night.

Cheers,

Gary

 

[Ulladh]

The snakehead is in the Delaware and Susquehanna watersheds, but can be confused with some native fish.

This from PA but MD probably has the same native fish that at first look can be confused.

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/ais/snakehead_poster.pdf

 

[travlin-easy]

Actually, it's fairly easy to differentiate between the Northern Snakehead and the others - just look inside the mouth. The snakehead has some nasty teeth, razor sharp, that could easily sever the end of your finger, while the burbot and bowfin have teeth that resemble those of a catfish - big difference.

Cheers,

Gary

 

[T37Chef]

These things are freaks of nature. Student brought one in for us to cook...

It had been out of the water for I think two days and was still alive. I fileted the bastard and the gills and head were still moving. The meat was like Gary described but I have to say I had a little bit of hesitation tasting it while the head was still moving on the cutting board...that's just not natural!???

Yes...the DNR is trying to get chefs to market them on the menu...often holding competitions or events for the fis

Freaks

 

[aa3jy]

The next Chesapeake Bay will feature this ...

http://www.travelchannel.com/video/dcs-slimy-snakehead-fish

...at it's next gathering.

 

[travlin-easy]

You would think that as good as these fish taste, you would find the fillets in the big box super markets - but I've never seen them for sale.

Gary

 

[Ajax_MD]

I hope we harvest them right out of existence.

 

[Capt Len]

Change its name and people will love it. Back in '47 nobody wanted spider crabs but Alaska King Crab became pretty popular. Let's run a contest .

 

[Multihullgirl]

or invent "blackening,' or some such. Blackened food treatment is something that Paul Prudhomme invented to make redfish (red drum) more palatable, as the red snapper were being overharvested. Blackening is in no way a traditional Cajun way to cook food; nobody overseasons and burns food down here if they can help it.

 

[krisscross]

Hardy little boogers. Maybe they will eventually help fix the Asian carp invasion.

 

[travlin-easy]

In the 1800s striped bass were sold for fertilizer. Bluefish were considered trash fish in 1970, in Washington state largemouth bass, crappie, yellow perch and walleye found in certain lakes were killed off with a toxin so trout could be stocked. Lionfish are now considered a delicacy.

Cheers,

Gary

 

[Capt Len]

"Suggest we rename them "Tundra Pike", or" Arctic Aipilat. (tilipia spelled backwards)Doesn't have to make sense, Just catchy. Can just see that on the menue and salivate.