I fired off an email to the local Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) biologist Chad Boyce, who took a wary approach to Jim's claim, saying, "I haven't heard anything about snakeheads down here. I'd be very surprised if they were here, but folks are doing stupid things and are moving them around, so there's no telling." He went on to explain that the closest confirmed sightings have occurred in the upper Piankatank (Dragon Run) and midway up the Eastern Shore, in an irrigation pond in Nassawadox. "No confirmed captures or sightings in Hampton Roads or northeast North Carolina, though," he assured.
According to VDGIF, anglers are allowed to legally catch and keep a snakehead (e.g., for mounting or eating), but you need to understand that, in order to keep it, you must kill it by (1) removing the head, (2) separating the gill arches from the body, or (3) removing the internal organs and putting it on ice (in a livewell, cooler, etc.) as quickly as possible. You also must call and report the catch to the snakehead hotline at 804-367-2925. On the other hand, there is no requirement to kill a snakehead if caught and immediately released.
Chad Boyce says you also can report any local snakehead catches to him at 757-409-5070. He further urges anglers to text a picture of any snakeheads they catch to him at the same number.
It has been illegal since 2002 to own a snakehead in Virginia without a permit issued by the board of VDGIF. Federal regulations prohibit the importation of snakehead fish into the United States. Interstate transport also is outlawed.
For anyone wanting a little more information, you might check out the sight I used: https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/snakehead/.
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