Who you callin' freaky?

There are 21 comments for this page [ View ]

BRIGHAM CITY -- Ring. Ring. I know what that fish is.

Everyone seems to have a theory about the identity of the unknown fish featured in a Page One story in Wednesday's Standard-Examiner. It was found with thousands of other dead fish near Pioneer Park pond in Brigham City. The majority of feedback from the public is that it may be a snakehead fish.

Snakehead fish made headlines when they were discovered in a pond in Maryland. The state contained the species in the pond where it was found, but fishermen have caught others in the Potomac River in recent years.

Author Eric Jay Dolin wrote about the incident in a book, "Snakehead, A Fish Out of Water." Dolin said it is possible that the fish found in Brigham City was a northern snakehead which is capable of living in very cold climates. The fish has been found in the U.S. as far north as Maine and they are now an established invasive species in Maryland.

Ben Nadolski, aquatic biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said he spent Wednesday morning fielding phone calls from people who wanted to guess the species of fish and media outlets calling for more information.

The DWR said late Wednesday they have a different idea about the fish.

Aquatics biologist Matt McKell said a snakehead has a dorsal fin that differs from the specimen.

"The specimen is in pretty poor shape," McKell said. "It doesn't appear to me that it's got that kind of configuration for the dorsal fin."

After taking another look, McKell believes the remains are those of a lake trout. McKell said the prominent teeth seen in the carcass are normally covered by flesh and due to the decay appear larger than they would when the fish was alive.

The Standard-Examiner also received e-mails and phone calls with guesses as to the fish's origin.

Clay Bass, of Eden, believes it looks like a dogfish or bowfin, which he once caught when he lived in the South.

"I can tell you the boat wasn't big enough for the two of us. I cut my line rather than risk coming in contact with those teeth," Bass wrote in an e-mail to the Standard-Examiner.

Drew Cushing, warm water sport fish and community fisheries coordinator for the DWR, said he has also received numerous phone calls. Cushing is "absolutely certain" it is not a snakehead.

"It doesn't fit the mold," Cushing said. "It definitely wasn't a snakehead."

Cushing believes it could be some sort of a decomposed trout species.

According to aquaticcommunity.com, the northern snakehead is from China and is "highly adapted to surviving in areas exposed to seasonal dry periods."

The fish has the capability to live in water with very low oxygen content and can use its labyrinth organ to absorb oxygen directly from the air.

The fish also is capable of traveling across land, which matches the original description from Ogden angler Bernie Develin who said he thought the fish appeared to have crawled out of the water on its own.

Updated Wednesday April 3, 2008 at 12:15 a.m.


People offer theories about the identity of weird fish found in pond

BRIGHAM CITY — Many people seem to have a theory about the identity of the unknown fish species found near the shore of Pioneer Park pond in Brigham City.

Ben Nadolski, Aquatic Biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said he has spent the entire morning fielding phone calls from people who want to guess the species of fish and media outlets calling for more information. The biologists have turned the matter over to DWR public affairs specialist Mark Hadley.

“It’s getting pretty big,” Nadolski said.

The Standard-Examiner has also received e-mails and a phone call with guesses as to the fishes origin.

Look for more in Thursday's Standard-Examiner

Updated Wednesday April 2, 2008 at 11:45 a.m.


Freak fish found in pond
More than 4,000 fish dead of unknown causes

BRIGHAM CITY -- It looks like something from the swamps of a science fiction movie, not from Pioneer Park.

The remains of an unidentified aquatic species that appears to have been carnivorous were found near the shoreline of the Pioneer Park Pond in Brigham City.

The fish was found along with the remains of more than 4,000 other fish that died from unknown causes.

Bernie Develin, of Ogden, found the fish March 19 and reported it to the Division of Wildlife Resources.

DWR biologists are stumped as to what kind of fish it is and are seeking outside help to identify it.

Aquatics biologist Matt McKell sent photos of the fish to other biologists.

"It's different than anything any of us have seen. It's definitely not native," he said. "Nobody that's seen the photos can identify the fish, either."

The approximately 21-inch-long fish sports sharp teeth, but is missing its fins and tail, making it difficult to identify.

The fish carcass was in bad shape when McKell recovered it, and he believes it may have been run over by a car.

The reason for the deaths of the other fish in the pond is also still unknown.

McKell said one possibility is that someone may have dumped something in the pond. However, results from a water analysis revealed no chemicals.

Drew Cushing, warmwater sport fish and community fisheries coordinator, believes that the kill was caused by thick ice blocking light to the vegetation in the pond, causing aquatic plants to decay.

As the plants decay, they absorb oxygen, leaving nothing for the fish to breathe, and they suffocate under the ice.

"Those fish looked like they've been dead for a long time," he said. "Our thought is that it's a winter kill."

The carcasses of 2,500 rainbow trout, 1,300 catfish, 400 crappie, 92 bluegill, 40 yellow perch, 30 carp, two bass, one goldfish and the unidentified fish were found on the shore of the reservoir.

Cushing also saw the unknown fish.

"It sure looked like a fish that could eat a lot of fish," he said. "It probably was eating a lot of fish that we were stocking."

Of the species found, only the trout, catfish, bluegill and largemouth bass were placed there by the DWR.

Cushing said there may be some benefit to the fish die-off because nonnative and unproductive species are now cleared from the pond.

He said the unknown fish may have been an aquarium pet placed in the pond when it was smaller, and it just grew over time.

This is a problem that continues regardless of attempts to educate the public about the dangers of introducing nonnative fish into local waters, he said.

The angler who found the fish doesn't believe the fish die-off theory. The 62-year-old has been fishing in Utah his whole life and has seen the effects of many winter kills.

"It doesn't make sense to me that the winter kill killed off every fish in the water," Develin said.

"That kill was not from a lack of oxygen. I could not believe how many dead fish there were and how many species."

Develin believes some sort of parasite may have been in the water. He's concerned that children who wade there could be in danger.

He also believes the unknown species may have left the water on its own.

"I believe that he actually worked his way up on the bank.

"This thing looks like something you would see in a prehistoric scary movie."

Comments

Add a comment...

Name:
Comment:
Security Code:	Type the characters to the left in the box exactly as they appear.
Your IP:	38.103.63.16 This address is recorded for security purposes.