rogerramjet_2003 Report This Comment Date: February 21, 2008 02:04PM
Giant snakehead
hooked in UK river
BEIJING, Feb. 21
A giant snakehead, a fearsome predator of a fish usually found in the fresh
waters of South East Asia and India, has been hooked by an angler from a river
in England, media reported Thursday.
Andy Alder from Lincoln claimed to have captured the 60 cm long predator
while using a sprat as bait on the River Witham near North Hykeham,
Lincolnshire, England.
The creature, boasting a large mouthful of sharp teeth, usually preys on
other fish.
The discovery sparked fears in the tabloid newspapers that the "savage
fish" which has "even been reported to kill people" could start
to breed in UK waters, as one member of the family has done in the United
States.
However, the Environment Agency tried to allay the fears, saying the species
of Channidae would stand little chance of surviving a winter in the East
Midlands.
"We do not think that it is breeding there, and we do not plan to go and
electrofish the area and look for any others," the spokesman of the agency
was quoted as saying.
http://news.xinhuanet.com