Biologist Says Snakeheads Here to Stay

John Odenkirk with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries says there is now a natural, self-sustaining population of snakeheads.

Twenty snakeheads were found last year in the Potomac and 13 have been found so far this year. Odenkirk says the creatures appear confined to a 13-mile stretch of the Potomac downstream from Washington.

He says they still don't know how the snakehead will affect the Potomac ecosystem.

Snakeheads are native to Asia and Africa. Scientists are concerned they'll compete with native fish for food and nesting sites, but Odenkirk says their threat may have been "overrated."

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