The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Region 3 Fisheries Unit received a report of an angler catching a northern snakehead fish in the Bashakill Marsh in Wurtsboro. The angler submitted a photo and DEC confirmed the fish was a northern snakehead.

The DEC promptly posted signs at public access locations on the marsh asking fishermen to report the sighting or capture of northern snakeheads. DEC also conducted an electro fishing survey to see if they could find other snakeheads, but the Bashakill was so heavily vegetated, making it impossible to locate any. DEC said they would undertake a larger sampling effort when the vegetation begins to die off.

Northern snakeheads have a flattened head and a large mouth with many teeth. Young snakeheads feed on a wide variety of microscopic organism’s insect larvae and crustaceans that native fish rely on for food. Adult snakeheads feed mostly on other fish species besides crustaceans, reptiles, mammals and small birds.

DEC says all northern snakeheads caught should be immediately killed to support the state’s ongoing efforts to stop the spread of this invasive fish. Removal of these fish from the environment can be challenging if their population becomes well established or if physical conditions of a waterbody render efforts that are ineffective.

Further discoveries of northern snakehead fish should be immediately reported to DEC’s Region 3 Fisheries Office in New Paltz, call 845-256-3161 or email fwfish3@dec.ny.go.

Another Disease Killing Deer!

The New York DEC has confirmed that at least 700 whitetail deer have died in New York’s Southern Tier going into late September from Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). EHD is a fatal disease for deer that is transmitted by biting midges that are small insects sometimes called ‘no-see-ums’. The disease is not spread from deer to deer, and humans cannot be infected by deer or bites from midges.

Deer infected with EHD virus usually die within 36 hours. EHD outbreaks are most common in the late summer and early fall when midges are abundant. However the first hard frost is expected to kill the midges, thus ending the EHD outbreak for the year.

Signs of the EHD virus include fever, hemorrhage in muscles and organs, and swelling of the head, neck, tongue and lips. A deer infected with EHD may appear lame or dehydrated. Frequently infected deer will seek out water sources and many will die near a water source. There is no treatment or means to prevent this disease.

For more information on EHD go to: dec.ny.gov/animals/123773.html.