CHESAPEAKE BAY, MD - Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently removed almost 3,000 pounds of blue catfish from the Chesapeake Bay as part of a catfish monitoring project.
According to DNR, the invasive species have spread quickly throughout the Bay and voraciously feed on blue crabs, American eels, shad, white perch, and other ecologically important species. Working with other agencies, state and federal partners, educational institutions, and commercial and recreation anglers, DNR continues efforts to mitigate the spread of the blue catfish in the Chesapeake.
DNR says biologists from the department’s Invasive Fishes Program and Freshwater Fisheries Program, as well Virginia Commonwealth University used new technology to monitor population changes of the catfish in this recent removal. A commercial harvester also partnered with the researchers to ensure the fish removed from the Bay went to beneficial uses.
The Department of Natural Resources asks anglers to remove and kill any blue and flathead catfish they catch, and discourage catch and release of the species.
More information on blue catfish can be found on DNR’s website.