REGINA – Saskatchewan’s Environment Ministry is immediately banning the import, possession and sale of all aquarium fish deemed to be aquatic invasive species like the northern snakehead.
Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said in a news release that there are regulations that deal with other aquatic invasive species.
But he says the regulations historically have not applied to aquarium fish as most of them are tropical fish that will not survive in Saskatchewan’s climate.
The ministry is asking the public not to purchase the northern snakehead, which has been found at some pet stores in the province as well as telling pet stores not to import or sell them.
Northern snakeheads are very aggressive and will compete with native fish for food, quickly dominating a lake.
Officials say snakeheads also carry a disease that can spread to other freshwater fish and there’s no effective way to get rid of them.
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