Increasing numbers of fishermen are taking to the waters of Maryland to kill off a notorious 'fish from hell' that can travel on land for a quarter mile and devours other fish species.


Officials in Maryland are asking fishermen to decapitate and gut the water terrors nicknamed 'fish from hell.'

Atate leaders are trying to encourage anglers to go after the snakeheads by making note of the fish's 'dense, meaty' taste.

Fishermen are even being offered cash prizes as a reward for killing the 'fishzilla,' which can survive on land.


Kill: Maryland officials are hoping more fishermen like angler James Berry (pictured) will decapitate and gut snakeheads to remove the fish from waters

Fishermen are even being offered cash prizes as a reward for killing the 'fishzilla,' which can survive on land.

Maryland does not have an estimate of the amount of snakeheads within the state, but they are known to feast on bass that are smaller in size along the Potomac River and surrounding waters.

Leaders there are joined by about a dozen other states having to grapple with the threat of snakeheads.

As a temporary solution, Maryland officials have used electroshock treatment to send the fish to their deaths when they're grouped together.

Joe Love, a staff member at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources told msnbc.com that his team has trouble keeping up with the amount of snakeheads piercing through the waters.


Fishzilla: The Snakehead is a mean looking creature that can survive on land and is devastating to other fish, but has a 'dense, meaty' taste


Gotcha: Dan Betz caught this snakehead while fishing, which Maryland officials are encouraging others to do by even having cash prizes

He said: 'The staff, time, and supplies necessary for eradication of snakehead...are simply not available.'

He went on to say: 'The campaign now has largely been directed at limiting their spread.'


Maryland has been the toughest combatant to the fish, which are native to Asia and Africa.


Wanted dead: A.V Carl caught this snakehead on a white roostertail spinner off the bank of 4 mile run in the Potomac River, filled with the killer fish

Snakeheads can survive up to four days on land, can migrate up to a quarter mile between bodies of water by wriggling on their fins and can grow to more than 2 feet long.

The creatures' insatiable appetites can destroy the eco-systems of ponds, lakes and streams and the native populations.

They are a well-liked food in Asia.

The first snakehead found in Maryland, was an 18-inch fish caught in 2002 in Crofton Pond, 20 miles north of Washington, D.C.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2130841/Fight-fish-Campaign-launches-remove-devastating-snakeheads-waters.html#ixzz1sIuTKcFD