AndyS
09-12-2025, 11:50 AM
Freshwater Fisheries:
Chief Crouse reported the NJDEP Aquatic Invasive Species Reporting Form was developed by Sam MacQuesten and with Molly VanWieren from the Office of Information Technologies. It has been resulted in quite a few reporting’s since it was launched on June 18th. One particular report was for Archway Lake in which a pair of adult Northern Snakehead, guarding fry was
reported on 7/16/2025. This would be the first known occurrence of Snakeheads within the Pinelands and is very bad news for aquatic biota such as Pinelands Fish such as the Blackbanded Sunfish and others. Archway Lake is a private 4-acre impoundment of the upper Mullica River located in Waterford Twp., Camden County. The lake is owned and bordered by the Archway School, a private education facility for students with disabilities. The lake is entirely private with no public access, only staff are permitted to fish. The lake is extremely shallow due to sedimentation, with a small spillway, and abundant aquatic vegetation in the form of Pondweed and Water Smartweed. Staff coordinated with the school quickly followed and access was granted for removal efforts. A seining survey was conducted on 7/22/2025 to gather baseline fish assemblage data. A total of 7 species were encountered, comprised of Pumpkinseed, Bluegill, Golden Shiner, Brown Bullhead and Banded Sunfish, Largemouth Bass and Chain Pickerel were also observed. No Northern Snakeheads were observed or collected while seining. Removal efforts via boat electrofishing were conducted on 7/24/2025. One adult Northern Snakehead measuring 478 mm / 19 inches was collected and removed.
Next Steps :
• Currently we are gathering owner contact information for four downstream
impoundments to acquire access for sampling and to determine if snakeheads have spread beyond Archway Lake.
• Additional long-term monitoring and removal efforts along with eradication efforts are being discussed, however an evaluation of the downstream impoundments is necessary
before eradication recommendations can be made.
• Increase Education on the impacts of invasive fish species and increase Enforcement efforts as possession of live individuals and release even into the water in which they were caught is illegal.
• This is an unfortunate report, however it is nice to see the Online reporting form is serving its intended purpose
Chief Crouse reported the NJDEP Aquatic Invasive Species Reporting Form was developed by Sam MacQuesten and with Molly VanWieren from the Office of Information Technologies. It has been resulted in quite a few reporting’s since it was launched on June 18th. One particular report was for Archway Lake in which a pair of adult Northern Snakehead, guarding fry was
reported on 7/16/2025. This would be the first known occurrence of Snakeheads within the Pinelands and is very bad news for aquatic biota such as Pinelands Fish such as the Blackbanded Sunfish and others. Archway Lake is a private 4-acre impoundment of the upper Mullica River located in Waterford Twp., Camden County. The lake is owned and bordered by the Archway School, a private education facility for students with disabilities. The lake is entirely private with no public access, only staff are permitted to fish. The lake is extremely shallow due to sedimentation, with a small spillway, and abundant aquatic vegetation in the form of Pondweed and Water Smartweed. Staff coordinated with the school quickly followed and access was granted for removal efforts. A seining survey was conducted on 7/22/2025 to gather baseline fish assemblage data. A total of 7 species were encountered, comprised of Pumpkinseed, Bluegill, Golden Shiner, Brown Bullhead and Banded Sunfish, Largemouth Bass and Chain Pickerel were also observed. No Northern Snakeheads were observed or collected while seining. Removal efforts via boat electrofishing were conducted on 7/24/2025. One adult Northern Snakehead measuring 478 mm / 19 inches was collected and removed.
Next Steps :
• Currently we are gathering owner contact information for four downstream
impoundments to acquire access for sampling and to determine if snakeheads have spread beyond Archway Lake.
• Additional long-term monitoring and removal efforts along with eradication efforts are being discussed, however an evaluation of the downstream impoundments is necessary
before eradication recommendations can be made.
• Increase Education on the impacts of invasive fish species and increase Enforcement efforts as possession of live individuals and release even into the water in which they were caught is illegal.
• This is an unfortunate report, however it is nice to see the Online reporting form is serving its intended purpose