Rocky and his owner Chris Deverso: “Every time they’ve come to my house, they’ve made fun of me and the fish, comparing the situation to possessing marijuana and equating it to having a pet bear.”
MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO
Deverso claims that the story of the fish broke through the news levee after a guy in the neighborhood that doesn’t like, and has a personal vendetta against, him, blew him in. He wouldn’t name names, but he also claims that the neighbor that whispered Rocky’s eventual deep six to the authorities has a brother-in-law that is a high-ranking official in the DEC—which he said turned their visits to his house into a tormenting calamity.
“Nobody knows how they’ve treated me,” continued Deverso. “The DEC tells everyone that they are compassionate about Rocky, but concerned because it’s an invasive species. . . it’s all B.S. Every time they’ve come to my house, they’ve made fun of me and the fish, comparing the situation to possessing marijuana and equating it to having a pet bear.
“But how can you compare the fish to owning a bear?” he continued. “They told me, ‘If we let you keep your fish, and a guy next door has a bear, why won’t we let him keep that?’ It’s because if the fish gets loose it’s not going to harm anyone or maul a kid. That’s the kind of nonsense I’ve had to put up with.”
Skipped stones may break a fish’s bones, but name-calling is something the DEC said is news to thee. “I have not heard those allegations from him,” noted DEC Region 7 director Ken Lynch. “I wasn’t at his house and no complaint of that nature has been made. We did have a meeting, which was very amicable. We had a nice discussion and Chris is very passionate about his fish and we thought we had his cooperation, but it hasn’t worked out that way.”
A federal and state ban was implemented on owning snakeheads as a pet on Feb. 26, 2004; Deverso purchased Rocky in 1999 while it was still legal. There are 29 different species of snakehead fish; they have been tagged as an “invasive species” because of their ferocious appetites, as they’ll literally adopt a seafood diet and wipe out an entire underwater population. Their indiscriminate masticating habits also include eating their own offspring.
But Deverso claimed that only two of the 29 species can survive in water colder than 70 degrees, those being the northern and blotted snakeheads. Rocky’s species is that of the Channa Micropeltes, non-scientifically known as a “giant” snakehead. Deverso keeps his aquarium heated to 80 degrees to ensure the fish’s survival.
“They {the DEC} accuse me of causing a media frenzy and do nothing but tell the public how dangerous my fish is and say it would wreak havoc if it got into Onondaga Lake or any other Syracuse waterway,” said Deverso. “But if my fish was released into any waters colder than 70 degrees it would die.”
He claims he was told by a high-ranking DEC official in Albany that if he can either get a state legislator to override the decision or if he can prove to the local DEC that Rocky is indeed a non-invasive species, his fate can be spared. “The giant snakeheads only come in one size, shape and color,” continued Deverso. “It takes one day of research to differentiate the difference of species and I brought them specifications from biologists to prove this and what do they do. They just shrug me off and give me no logical reasoning as to why they’re so intent on killing my fish.”
Lynch said the DEC is being proactive so as to take no chance of seeing New York’s ecology put in harm’s way. “This is the first incident involving a snakehead here in Central New York,” said Lynch, a 13-year veteran of the DEC. “We had significant issues downstate near Binghamton where a pet snakehead was released into a private pond, which ended up impacting nearby tributaries that ended up as very expensive projects to fix. The best prevention of invasive species is to not allow them into the wild at all.”
Since Deverso purchased Rocky while it was legal, there has been talk of grandfathering the situation. Lynch elaborated that a “grandfather clause” is not permissible here because “snakeheads can be devastating to local ecology, regardless of it’s a grandfather or not and it’s important to control and not let them out to present that opportunity.”
Deverso sees it another way. “There were no signs when I bought it that said ‘Buy at your own risk,’” he continued. “What if I purchase a beta fish right now and in 10 years they become illegal?’ It’s a creature that has relied on me for the past 10 years of its survival, and I was fined and convicted of a misdemeanor because of this and I’ve never had a parking ticket in my life, which doesn’t sit well with me.”
Lynch noted that there is still no timetable as to when Rocky will have to swim the green mile, even though the DEC announced its plans, again, on April 1, that the fish will indeed be seized and terminated. “From day one, we’ve been patient and gave {Chris} an opportunity to find a new home and we’re still willing to do it,” he said. He mentioned there was a brief conversation with Onondaga County about keeping it at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, although nothing has come to fruition.
Lynch also said he received a call from someone in Ohio interested in possessing Rocky, which Deverso claims would be just as bad as the DEC killing the fish. “The stress of taking him out of his current environment and the travel involved would leave him with probably a 2 percent chance of survival,” said Deverso. “But win or lose, all I’ve done is try to turn it into a positive situation and the DEC has to understand the impact this story has made no matter how ridiculous anyone thinks it is. Live or die, my fish will have an impact.”
After receiving letters and phone calls from people around—and out of the country—Deverso knew that Rocky, even if he loses the battle, could serve a greater purpose. He has begun selling Rocky bumper stickers, T-shirts and other memorabilia, with 100 percent of the profits going to the SPCA of Central New York and the Maxman Rescue in the Jordan-Elbridge area. “Even if it saves one dog, one cat or one reptile,” he continued, “the stress I’ve been through will have been worth it.”
If interested in purchasing any Rocky fanfare, or if you have any other questions for Deverso, who said he’s answered every letter he’s received, e-mail cdeverso@yahoo.com. An Internet forum to discuss Rocky’s plight can be found at www.myspace.com/letrockylive, which also includes a link to an online petition to save the snakehead, which to date, has more than 1,100 signatures from 16 countries.
—Tom Kahley
