Invasive catfish threaten Virginia fisheries

Source VA Farm Bureau

WASHINGTON, DC — A critical foe is threatening marine ecosystems and livelihoods across the country—driving nationwide efforts to control populations from the dining table.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making $6 million in grant funding available through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program for seafood processors. This allows them to expand operations, transform the food supply chain, and create new and better markets for the processing of invasive, wild-caught catfish.

Eligible projects may receive grants from $250,000 up to $1 million. Successful applicants must be able to cover half of their total project costs. Applications must be submitted through grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 6.

Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) are considered invasive in several regions, especially the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Image credit - VA Farm Bureau

Additionally, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is accepting the next round of applications for the Blue Catfish Infrastructure Grant Program Oct. 1 through Oct. 31. The Blue Catfish Processing, Flash Freezing, and Infrastructure Grant Program provides reimbursable grants of up to $250,000 to political subdivisions to support blue catfish processing, flash freezing and infrastructure projects.

Grant awards will be made on a competitive basis based on the strength of a candidate’s application. For more information, visit vdacs.virginia.gov/agriculture-afid-infrastructure-grants-blue-catfish.shtml.

“There’s an influx of blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and they’re wreaking havoc on the fishery,” noted Tony Banks, senior assistant director of agriculture, development and innovation for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

Introduced to the bay’s tributaries in the 1970s and 1980s as a trophy fish for recreational fishermen, blue catfish populations have exploded and adapted to saltwater—capable of consuming at least 60 million pounds of seafood daily. They prey on prized species such as striped bass, blue crab, herring, saltwater clams and oysters while lacking natural predators of their own.

“We’re kind of on the precipice of what I would say is a catastrophic event in our seafood economy because of the blue catfish,” said Michael Schwarz, director of the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center. “They’re consuming literally anything they can get into their mouths, and they’re doing it very effectively.”

While blue catfish have become a “massive ecological and socio-economic concern, they also happen to taste very good,” he noted.

Many Virginia restaurants have started offering blue catfish on their menus.

“It’s a great product—white, firm, sweet meat, high in protein and low in fat,” noted Mike Hutt, executive director of the Virginia Marine Products Board.

The nutritional value of Chesapeake Bay blue catfish outperforms other lean fish like tilapia, channel catfish and cod, according to recent data collected by the Virginia Seafood AREC.

Seafood lovers can do their part by ordering blue catfish at restaurants and buying them at local grocery stores.

Learn more about statewide efforts to control invasive blue catfish populations by viewing Real Virginia, Virginia Farm Bureau’s weekly television program.