Snakehead: A Fish out of Water

by Eric Jay Dolin

The story of the dreaded snakehead fish is a case study for invasive species. This is the story of an invasive species that went from obscurity to fame, becoming front-page news and the topic of David Letterman's Top Ten list. Snakeheads, a species native to Asia, were released into a suburban pond in Maryland sometime around the year 2000. They reproduced, and a few years later a local angler caught and photographed one of the adults. Natural resources officials from the state and federal government responded with swat teams, and a media frenzy soon followed. Could the ferocious beast — capable of walking on land and breathing air — enter Chesapeake Bay and destroy native stocks? Much of the excitement was exaggeration, but the frenzy continued. Wildlife officers could not catch the beasts, even as local anglers captured more. The pond was sealed off, armies with toxins brought in, and over the course of months it looked like the beast was slain. But we learned that snakeheads are loose elsewhere in America, as are thousands of other introduced species. Was the snakehead story all hype, or was this the right response? Dolin tells the amazing story of the "snakehead summer" while delving into the larger questions about invasive species in America.

"Fascinating scientific reporting . . . well-written and entertaining case study of modern resource management." ESPN Outdoors

"It's the best book on non-native species since The Coming of the Pond Fishes . . . an absolute page turner!" ifish.net

"A wonderful, intriguing and fascinatingly complete documentation of a social and ecological phenomenon." New Scientist

"Dolin doesn't skimp on details . . . Or get bogged down in an overly scientific discussion of his subject . . . a lively book." Baltimore Magazine

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals

266 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

I grew up near the coasts of New York and Connecticut, and since an early age I was fascinated by the natural world, especially the ocean. I spent many days wandering the beaches on the edge of Long Island Sound and the Atlantic, collecting seashells and exploring tidepools. When I left for college I wanted to become a marine biologist or more specifically a malacologist (seashell scientist). At Brown University I quickly realized that although I loved learning about science, I wasn't cut out for a career in science, mainly because I wasn't very good in the lab, and I didn't particularly enjoy reading or writing scientific research papers. So, after taking a year off and exploring a range of career options, I shifted course turning toward the field of environmental policy, first earning a double-major in biology and environmental studies, then getting a masters degree in environmental management from Yale, and a Ph.D. in environmental policy and planning from MIT, where my dissertation focused on the role of the courts in the cleanup of Boston Harbor.

I have held a variety of jobs, including stints as a fisheries policy analyst at the National Marine Fisheries Service, a program manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an environmental consultant stateside and in London, an American Association for the Advancement of Science writing fellow at Business Week, a curatorial assistant in the Mollusk Department at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, and an intern at the National Wildlife Federation, the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, and the U.S. Senate.

Throughout my career, one thing remained constant--I enjoyed writing and telling stories. And that's why I started writing books--to share the stories that I find most intriguing (I have also published more than 60 articles for magazines, newspapers, and professional journals). My most recent books include:

***A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes (Liveright, 2020), which was chosen by:

The Washington Post -- One of 50 Notable works of Nonfiction for 2020

Library Journal -- One of the Best Science & Technology Books of 2020
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Kirkus Reviews -- One of the top 100 nonfiction books of 2020 (it was also a finalist for the Kirkus Prize)
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Booklist -- 10 Top Sci-Tech Books of 2020
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Amazon.com -- One of the Best Science Books of 2020

And also was an Editor's Choice by the New York Times Book Review.

New York Times -- Editor's Choice

***Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates (Liveright, 2018), which was chosen as a "Must-Read" book for 2019 by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, and was a finalist for the 2019 Julia Ward Howe Award given by the Boston Author's Club.

***Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse (Liveright, 2016), which was chosen by gCaptain and Classic Boat as one of the best nautical books of 2016.

***When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail (Liveright, September 2012), which was chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the ten best non-fiction books of Fall 2012.

***Fur, Fortune, and Empire: the Epic History of the Fur Trade in America (W. W. Norton, 2010), a national bestseller, which was chosen by New West, The Seattle Times, and The Rocky Mountain Land Library as one of the top non-fiction books of 2010. It also won the 2011 James P. Hanlan Book Award, given by the New England Historical Association, and was awarded first place in the Outdoor Writers Association of America, Excellence in Craft Contest.

***Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America (W. W. Norton, 2007), which was selected as one of the best nonfiction books of 2007 by The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and The Providence Journal. Leviathan was also chosen by Amazon.com's editors as one of the 10 best history books of 2007. Leviathan garnered the the 23rd annual (2007) L. Byrne Waterman

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read. Traces the 'Summer of the Snakehead' -- 2002 -- chronologically, according to the rising arc of the crazy stories circulating about the fearsome powers of Channa argus, the Northern Snakeheads released into Crofton Pond. Includes everything from the text of the "Daily Show's" on-location Snakehead piece to anatomically-correct artists' illustrations from the better science books. This fine volume even touches on the Snakeheads of the Sixties (the Walking Catfish), Seventies (Killers Bees and Sea Lampreys) and the Teens (Asian Carp), comparing and contrasting the hysteria and hyperbole. Not to be missed if you love ecological studies, ridiculous public panics, or anything having to do with piscatorial love.

[Glenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little skeptical when I began this book, because Dolin says he wrote it in just six months. As a journalist turned environmental historian, I think six months is insufficient time to research a book, never mind write one. But Dolin actually did a good job. In 2002, at a small suburban pond in Maryland, a couple of anglers caught specimens of a large, ugly, and aggressive Asian fish called snakehead. All hell broke loose, as state and federal agencies responded with "SWAT teams of biologists," and national media carried exaggerated stories that turned Frankenfish into an international celebrity. The fish provided comic fodder for the likes of Dave Barry, David Letterman, and Jon Stewart. Dolin sometimes overwhelms the reader with too many excerpts from the media frenzy, to the point of drowning its core themes. Nonetheless, 'Snakehead' is an engaging read, with interesting characters, drama, rhetoric, and plenty of humor. Above all, it conveys an important underlying message about the risks of invasive species, an issue that concerned few Americans until the summer of the snakehead.

[Zeke Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has been doing research on the northern snakehead for almost four years now, it was incredibly serendipitous to stumble across this book. I found this book to be a fun and largely comprehensive account of the Crofton Pond Incident. However, while the work is mostly a fun and engaging narrative, Dolin does occasionally leave the main issue behind in favor of repetitive and boring interludes on material only very tangentially related. That said, the book is well-researched and very thoroughly explores the discovery of snakehead and the ensuing media storm that accompanied it.