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Maryland to poison pond to kill Snakehead fish

Some excerpts:

Maryland's Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday it would use poison to kill the land-crawling snakehead fish found in a local pond to stop the predator from spreading into the state's waterways.

The snakehead, a native from China that grows up to 3 feet long and can crawl across land, was discovered this summer by a fisherman in a pond in Crofton, Maryland, raising fears that it could devastate local fish populations.

State officials said they would adopt the recent recommendations of a scientific panel to use herbicides and the pesticide Rotenone to kill the snakeheads, and all the other fish in the pond.

"I feel confident that this is the most effective and efficient course of action," Maryland Natural Resources Secretary J. Charles Fox said in a statement.

While dead fish will be removed daily from the pond, the department warned neighborhood residents to expect smelly odors from decaying organic material.

Water quality will return to normal within a few weeks after the fish kill, according to the state.

Snakeheads have been found in at least seven other states: Hawaii, Florida, California, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Rhode Island, according to the Interior Department.