Since their introduction more than two decades ago, northern snakeheads have become established and expanded their range throughout the Mid Atlantic region. This article includes recent information about the species.
In the spring of 2025, during electrofishing sampling of Liberty Reservoir, Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologists documented the presence of northern snakehead in the impoundment.
In early June, Park rangers at the Black Rock Sanctuary in Phoenixville, PA removed a northern snakehead from the Schuylkill River.
In June 2025, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources recognized Matt Foreman of Crownsville as the new state record holder for northern snakehead in the state’s Invasive Division. Foreman harvested the 21.8-pound fish on June 7 while bowfishing in the Susquehanna River below the Conowingo Dam. The monster snakehead was more than 36 inches long.
On June 11, Delaware angler Dyllan Rust caught a 15-pound, 8 ounce northern snakehead, measuring 31.5 inches in length. Rust’s catch set a new Delaware state record, surpassing the previous record for the species, established less than a month earlier, by 11 ounces. Rust caught the fish at Marshyhope Ditch outside of Harrington, while fishing from shore.
In June, fish lift operations ended at the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River. The East Fish Lift only operated during the spring 2025 season.
During the 2025 fish lift operation season, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Invasive Fishes Program staff removed a total of 124 northern snakehead, 22 flathead catfish, and 8 blue catfish.
The lifts operate each spring to allow the passage of anadromous shad and herring species. Fish lifts begin running in April and operate no later than mid-June.
By comparison, 18,000 pounds of invasive fishes were removed from the fish lifts in 2024, including 2,106 northern snakehead, 746 flathead catfish, and 36 blue catfish..
In July, Maryland Department of Natural Resources released Chasing a Slippery Predator: Eight Places to Target Maryland’s Chesapeake Channa. The document offers tips of catching northern snakeheads as well as providing its list of top eight waterways where northern snakeheads are caught.
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