It’s no fish tale: The predatory frankenfish has struck again.
A Massachusetts man hauled in a fanged fish that experts said is an invasive species that isn’t from North America and is illegal in the US.
The sharp-fanged northern snakehead, also known as a “frankenfish,” was lurking in a lake outside of Boston, according to WCBV.
Snakeheads, native to Asia, are “voracious predators, feeding on other fishes, crustaceans, frogs, small reptiles and sometimes birds and small mammals,” according to federal conservationists.
The beady black eyed slimy fish presented a reel challenge to angler Mike Powell.
“Let’s be honest, I’m out here chasing big bass. To catch that when I’m not looking for it, I mean I was wearing one of these things that tells you your heart rate, thing was going through the roof,” Powell told the station.
“I didn’t know how to fight it because this thing was jumping left right left right.”
The species is illegal to own in the US.
“They are an injurious species, so you can’t possess them,” Todd Richards from MassWildlife reportedly said.
“[The state] regulates the possession of the fish that can live in our waters, and we don’t issue permits for snakeheads,” he told the local outlet. “I fished this lake my entire life and when I saw that I was like this doesn’t belong here.”
Only three other snakeheads have been found in The Bay State over the past two decades, according to the report.
“The good news is these are all adult fish. We have no evidence of reproduction, which would be a different ball game,” Richards said, according to the article.
Massachusetts officials advise anyone who catches a frankenfish to take it to land, kill it, and notify authorities.