Snakeheads

New York, NY —

They are nicknamed frankenfish – which may sound like something out of a Saturday nigth live skit. But Snakehead fish are real. They made national headlines earlier this month when they were found to be breeding in a Maryland pond where they'd been dumped. Now the government wants to ban 28 species of the voracious freshwater fish, calling it a threat to the nation's commercial and recreational fisheries. But from Singapore to New York's Chinatown, the snakehead is considered a delicacy with medicinal properties, and many don't understand what all the fuss is about. WNYC's Allison Keyes has more.

In fishmarkets like this one on East Broadway in Chinatown, merchants and customers squeeze into stores where the smells of live eels and frogs mingle with the aroma of the ice-filled bins of crabs. The air hums with the sounds of the pumps for the aquariums filled with live fish. These are familiar places to Mei Leeng Kong. The 61-year-old home health care worker moved to Chinatown from China four years ago. She says in her homeland – snakehead fish are popular both in markets – and restaurants – but they are it is expensive because people believe they helps build red blood cells and heal wounds. Through a translator – she explains that she has cooked snakehead with medicinal herbs.

(translator) She says that umm//normally what people do at home is – they make a soup out of it. There's a special way of Chinese cooking – especially for medicine – where you put the fish and a type of ginsing into a bowl – and put that into another pot of water and boil it – and it gets cooked that way.

The snakeheads seen in fish markets are torpedo-shaped fish – brown with black blothces – with a large mouth – and big teeth. It can grow up to three feet long – nad has extremely rough scales. Kong says the snakehead must be freshly killed – and the gallbladder must be left inside – otherwise the medicinal qualities of the fish will be lost.

(translator) One of the reasons why it is so popular in China is because of the birth control policy in China. Women – after they have one child – have to get their tubes tied – and the day right after the operation they eat this fish because it helps the scars heal.

But Kong says in China – there's a myth about snakeheads that walk – or have legs.

(translator) When they catch them – these snakehead fish – they throw them against the gruond to see if their legs come out. And if they do have legs – they are the poisonous ones and you can't eat them.

Allison- you're kidding.
Laughter

Frank Greco: They are not poisonous – they're just a big fish – a mouth with fins

Frank Greco is the senior aquarist at the New York Aquarium. He takes care of the fish there – and he used to work in the pet industry – where snakeheads are very popular. Greco kept a couple of the smaller snakeheads at home – and says some of the rumors about the fish simply aren't true. For instance – he says they can't walk – but they CAN wriggle.

Frank Greco: They don't have legs. They have very strong bodies. If a pond dries up and they want to move to another body of water – they can wriggle out of their pond – crawl across the moist ground and crawl into another body of water. Even if you have large fish or chickens or anything – they will eat them – large frogs – they will devour them.

Ralph Cho works at Pacific Aquarium and Pet Inc. On Delancy Street in Chinatown – and has a healthy respect for the northern snakehead. The pet shop doesn't carry THAT species – but it DOES carry the red snakehead -- as do many pet stores world-wide. At Pacific Aquarium – prices range from $7 for a small fish – all the way to several hundred dollars for very large ones. They are pretty fish – with brownish-grey bodies and gold eyes. Two black stripes with a reddish-orange color run the length of their sides. But the fish start right back when you put your face against the tank – and they don't look friendly. Cho says even snakeheads sold as pets are aggressive and he says demand for the fish has dropped over the last year.

A fish like that can outgrow the tank. If you have a four-foot tank it will grow to two feet – if you have a six foot tank it will grow to three feet. It is too big for anyoen to raise as a pet – no one cares to raise these anymore.

One species of this fish – the northern snakehead – has shown up in a pond on Crofton, Maryland. It has also shown up in six other states. Almost 17-thousand of them were imported to this country between 1997 and 2000. Gale Norton is the U–S Secretary of the Interior.

These fish are top level predators that will eat virtually anything in their path. They can travel across land – and live out of water for three days. They reproduce quickly – one species of snakehead reportedly even attacked humans that were near its mass of young fish. They have the potential to cause enormous damage to our valuable recreationanal and commercial fisheries.

Experts agree that the snakeheads will eat almost anything – including small birds and frogs – and say large ones could indeed affect the eco-system. The department of the interior will decide over the next couple of months whether to implement a proposed ban. If it does, those violating the law could face up to six months in prison, and fines as high as $10,000. Right now, In New York City – it is still legal to sell or posses snakeheads. But the rumors of the possible ban have many merchants in Chinatown yanking them out of the aquariums . Most are too nervous to talk about the fish.

(Allison) do you speak english

translator says he told us to talk to the manager

translator says the manager is sleeping he's not here

translator says he says he never sold snakehead
{allison)– is the manager around by chance?
No
did you guys sell them?
Sell what? Snakehead fish? No

Finally, Michael, who works at a seafood market on catherine just below East Broadway – explanied that no one is sure whether it is still legal to sell snakeheads – so it is safer not to. He says he doesn't understand why the government wants to ban something that is so ingranied in Chinese culture.

(translator) he says yes he thinks it weird because for hundreds of years chinese people from all around the world have been eating this particular kind of fish and he is asking himself whether this is a tactic of the american governmetn for economic reasons that because you are importing these fish from china you are decreasing the amount of business for american fisherman.

Michael says not being able to sell snakefish won't hurt his business much – snice it will only mean there's one less variety of fish to sell – but he says a ban would affect his community.

(translator) the biggest loss is to chinese culture because this is something very important in chinese culture. Its an important thing to eat after you have surgery – after you've had any kind of wound – this is what you eat and now chinese people don't have access to what they are used to.

The government insists it is only trying to avoid the risks of havnig someone dump the fish in some freshwater pond or lake – where they might breed and devour the creatures who already live there.

A spokesman for the US Fish and Wildlife service says even if the ban DOES pass – people may keep the fish they already have in their aquariums – and even breed them at home and eat them. But they may not be imported – transported between states – or dumped into open waterways.

For WNYC, I'm AK