# i am curius are snakeheads illegal?



## jling (Jan 23, 2011)

i am curious are they illegal in bc now? if so what speices ? thanks


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## Pat805 (Oct 12, 2011)

i saw in rivermonsters it saids the population of snakeheads is banned from wild release in US. its also spreading up rivers and streams towards canada.. so i dont know if its illegal here just in the US, but if they expand up to canada i think they would be soon illegal.


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## Smiladon (Apr 23, 2010)

1. Read this
DFO Science - Importation of Ornamental Fish

2. Go to this link and search for the fish you are looking for.
Welcome to CITES

If the fish you are looking for is in CITES, you need a certificate (example Asian Arowana)

Hope this helps


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## -DC- (Apr 21, 2010)

No ban in BC yet, Only in Ontario and Quebec.


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## xoticlover (Apr 26, 2010)

No you can still buy them here in a few pet stores. Should be illegal though because they get huge and most people dont want them when they get too large.


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## Immus21 (Jun 14, 2010)

xoticlover said:


> No you can still buy them here in a few pet stores. Should be illegal though because they get huge and most people dont want them when they get too large.


Only some types get large, there are many dwarf species that can be kept in aquaria. There are in fact very few types that can even survive our waters/climate. Throwing out a broad ban for all SHs would be a shame as they are very interesting to observe in an aquarium.


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

should be in my opinion just cuz people seem to think its a good idea to leave em in rivers


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## cadillac_jack (Jul 12, 2013)

The importation should not be illegal
No more dangerous than an irresponsible owner with a pit bull


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## tardigrade (Jan 24, 2014)

As far as I can see, as of Dec 2012, all Channa species are illegal in BC without a permit. Illegal to possess, transport, breed, or release.


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

I recall a thread a year ago or so (maybe longer) in here about a rather large snakehead in the Central Park pond in Burnaby...There is always the usual debate that goes with these.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

tardigrade said:


> As far as I can see, as of Dec 2012, all Channa species are illegal in BC without a permit. Illegal to possess, transport, breed, or release.


I hope this is not true because I have a rainbow snakehead which will never get too big. It is also very peaceful, which gets along very well with my gold fish.


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## -DC- (Apr 21, 2010)

..........


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## tardigrade (Jan 24, 2014)

It is part of the BC Controlled Alien Species Regulation. You can see it here (Schedule 3 of the Reg) Controlled Alien Species Regulation

Prohibitions are laid out in section 7


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

Those regulations refer to importation and release of foreign species into the environment. I do not believe it restricts them in the aquarium trade.. as long as they are not released .. If you go through the restricted/ banned list you will find some old aquarium standbys such as the White Cloud Mountain Minnow and Mosquito fish.


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## Rockman (May 19, 2013)

davefrombc said:


> Those regulations refer to importation and release of foreign species into the environment. I do not believe it restricts them in the aquarium trade.. as long as they are not released .. If you go through the restricted/ banned list you will find some old aquarium standbys such as the White Cloud Mountain Minnow and Mosquito fish.


_(1) A person must not possess an aquatic invasive species individual.

(2) A person who possesses an aquatic invasive species individual must prevent the aquatic invasive species individual from breeding.

(3) A person must not

(a) release into BC waters an aquatic invasive species individual,

(b) allow an aquatic invasive species individual to be released, or to escape, into BC waters, or

(c) allow a mussel to come into contact with BC waters.

(4) A person must not ship or transport in British Columbia an aquatic invasive species individual. _

Seems pretty clear that they are talking about possession. According to this training handout, penalties for owning, breeding, or transporting one of these fish could be a max. $50,000 fine or a 6 month prision term. Releasing one is worth it's own special form pf punishment and would net you a fine between $2,500 to $250,000 or a max. two year prision term.

Of course, that handout also says enforement with current owners is difficult (meaning they're not going to hunt you down... they're just not going to let you buy new ones). If you do happen to pop up on their radar it's most likely they'll just sieze and euthanize the fish; possibly they might write you a ticket too. For them to actually prosecute you you'd probably have to be doing something big.


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

Government rules and regulations are too often confusing and conflicting. That training handout lists White clouds and Gambusia as both being banned , yet adults and fry of them are sold in the pet stores .. White cloud juveniles are often in the feeder fish tanks. If there was a total ban on them , they would not be available in pet stores. There are other fish on that ban list that are also still readily available in pet stores , so there is a definite conflict between those regulations as shown and practice .. I have done a bunch of searching on the net and can't find anything specific on what is allowed and not for the aquarium pet trade.. Everything I can find is in reference to the food business.. with the exception of the bans on exotic land mammals and reptiles.


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## tardigrade (Jan 24, 2014)

Davefrombc, I can guarantee you they apply to the aquarium trade. The fact that shops still sell them is simply because most don't know better, and because the CO service has bigger fish to fry...pardon the pun. These regs are NOT about importation bans, since BC can not actually regulate importation (that is a federal accountability). It is illegal to possess them, breed them, or transport them, not just release them.


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

That may be .. I have not seen anything to dispute that .. It does strike me very strange if there are no exceptions for fish such as the White Cloud , which has been in the aquarium trade since virtually the beginning. They are among the first fish I kept other than goldies. Guppies, White Clouds and Paradise fish were among the most popular starters when I started in the hobby nearly 60 years ago. Angelfish back then were exotic , and Discus were a super premium rare fish.


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## Rockman (May 19, 2013)

Nobody said the ban made sense. I've been looking around for some reasoning behind which fish made the list; can't find any. On the surface it looks like they've banned a lot of species that don't have invasive potential. Snakeheads are banned because of concerns about the Northern Snakehead (which does seem like it could survive in BC... so that's fair). But most of them can't survive outside here; so banning the whole Channa genus seems pretty heavy handed. White clouds, as you said, have been around forever without any wild populations being established. WCMM's are really more of a subtropical species anyway... they can take temps as low as 5 degrees, but not colder than that.

But yeah... seems like they are indeed banned. It's not something I'm happy to see; even less so because it seems to be so weakly enforced that few people know about it. Normally I'd approve of banning invasives (it is a serious issue)... but this looks like it's been pretty poorly thought out and implemented.


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

"Poorly thought out" is being very generous to those that dreamed up the regulations.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

How can I prevent my white clouds from breeding..should I neuter them...

May be I should turn myself in before it is too late. 

(2) A person who possesses an aquatic invasive species individual must prevent the aquatic invasive species individual from breeding.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Put them in with your snakehead... problem solved


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Then what about the snakehead? 
Actually, I am very ashame of myself for being such a bad boy but I have not one but two snakeheads. They are rainbow snakeheads.


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

Too bad we can't prevent bureaucrats from multiplying. I'd suggest you worry about your snakehead just as much as the rest of us worry about the "invasive species" of aquarium fish we may have .


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

LOL I am really worried they might knock on my door any time now. 
On a serious note I suspect there may be more to the situation because when fish stores import their fish they need to have all the proper names printed on the waybill/invoice and the custom officers will stop them if they are really illegal. White cloud is supposed to come from Asia so they must have passed through custom, same as the rainbow snakehead that I have. White cloud has the exact same status as all snakehead as far as I can see according to the document linked above. White cloud is very popular and common, they are for sale in stores and online, there is nothing secretive about the sale of such species. Isn't that a bit odd if they are really forbidden?
And if they are okay, since snakehead has the same status per schedule 3, may be they are allowed just like white clouds are?


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

There's a $250,000.00 fine for releasing a snakehead into the wild which is a fairly hefty fine. As far as I can see through some research there is some dispute over whether or not this fish is actually illegal. In December of 2012 the importation, breeding, and possession of snakeheads was banned but has to pass through the cabinet and no website seems to mention whether or not it actually passed in the cabinet. The only province they seem to definitely be illegal in is Ontario?


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## tardigrade (Jan 24, 2014)

Steve said:


> There's a $250,000.00 fine for releasing a snakehead into the wild which is a fairly hefty fine. As far as I can see through some research there is some dispute over whether or not this fish is actually illegal. In December of 2012 the importation, breeding, and possession of snakeheads was banned but has to pass through the cabinet and no website seems to mention whether or not it actually passed in the cabinet. The only province they seem to definitely be illegal in is Ontario?


It is an officially published regulation, so it was definitely passed by cabinet.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Odd that the department of fisheries states "Selling live snakeheads is now prohibited by law in Ontario, but British Columbia has no such ban." as per: Department of Fisheries and Oceans - Science and was modified in 2013.. maybe the government doesn't even know lol


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

And may be custom officers in BC also do not know, which will be very odd.
I am referring to the fact that fish on the list on schedule 3 such as white cloud are still allowed to be imported into BC. So, is this really being enforced now?
I read that they were saying they would ban snakehead by fall last year but then I never heard or read anything when fall came or anytime after that.


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

With climate change I am sure in a few short years its quite possible snake heads could survive in our waters. The amount of damage snake heads have caused ecologically in the states is astounding. If you ask me... Its only a matter of time before they tighten up the laws. 

Lots of laws surrounding the aquarium trade are being tightened up. Getting koi in BC is a huge process now, as disease from them can infect our indigenous fish species. Not to mention bringing fish across the border is looked at more closely.


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## tardigrade (Jan 24, 2014)

Fish rookie said:


> And may be custom officers in BC also do not know, which will be very odd.
> I am referring to the fact that fish on the list on schedule 3 such as white cloud are still allowed to be imported into BC. So, is this really being enforced now?
> I read that they were saying they would ban snakehead by fall last year but then I never heard or read anything when fall came or anytime after that.


CBSA only enforces federal importation bans and there is not one in place for these species. DFO page is from an article in 2007 so obviously outdated and a missed update. DFO is federal not provincial, so looking to their information on the ban in BC is not really informative.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

I am confused. So, they are not really banned from importation.
But then they are banned--after they have been legally imported--from breeding, transporting, releasing, and possessing.


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## alexafg (Oct 31, 2011)

here is news about bby central park lake
Don't dump pets in Burnaby ponds, city says


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