Sri Lankan anglers join fight against invasive giant snakehead fish

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• Sri Lankan anglers join fight against invasive giant snakehead fish</p>

<p>Uditha Jayasinghe September 22, 2025 at 12:39 AM</p>

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<p>1 / 6Sri Lankan anglers join fight against invasive giant snakehead fishSri Lankan fishermen hold fishing competetion to cull invasive species in Colombo</p>

<p>By Uditha Jayasinghe</p>

<p>WARIYAPOLA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) -Nissanka Arachchige Vimukthi Sandaruwan beat more than 1,000 anglers to become champion of a unique competition to protect native fish from invasive giant snakehead fish in central Sri Lanka.</p>

<p>A native of southeast Asia, giant snakehead fish are considered an invasive species in many countries. Kept as pets they can cause massive ecological harm when released into rivers or dams.</p>

<p>Anglers from all over the south Asian island flocked to a dam on the Deduru Oya river, 130 km (80 miles) from the commercial capital Colombo, on Saturday to target the pest.</p>

<p>Curious spectators cheered on the participants while sampling pickles, fried snacks and ice cream along the dam's tree-lined embankment.</p>

<p>Despite the turnout, giant snakeheads proved elusive with only 22 caught.</p>

<p>"This is the first time I've participated in a fishing competition," said Sandaruwan, a 37-year-old farmer, who hooked three fish.</p>

<p>"I usually fish in the sea but this is a different experience. I'm happy that I got a chance to help save our fish," Sandaruwan told Reuters after being awarded 25,000 rupees ($83), a fishing rod and tackle.</p>

<p>Holding the competition multiple times will support conservation of native fish in the dam, which includes Labeo heladiva, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Sri Lanka, organisers said.</p>

<p>To help the effort, Sri Lanka this weekend also banned the import, possession, breeding and sale of four other invasive foreign fish species.</p>

<p>Sriyan Janaka, 46, is a commercial fisherman who watched his daily catch on the dam dwindle as the population of giant snakehead fish rose.</p>

<p>"This fish is a ferocious hunter and has a huge appetite. It eats small fish, and the babies of other fish," said Janaka, who helped organise the competition to get giant snakehead numbers down.</p>

<p>"Once the adult giant snakehead population is reduced, native fish varieties will be reintroduced into the dam to help the ecosystem recover."</p>

<p>(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)</p>

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