FEDERALSBURG, Md. — Real Good Fish is seeking to partner with school districts to feature invasive blue catfish on cafeteria menus, aiming to help restore the Chesapeake Bay while providing students with a locally sourced lunch option. The company has initiated a partnership with Caroline County Public Schools to achieve this goal.
WBOC visited Federalsburg Elementary School on Thursday, where blue catfish cakes are being served as sandwiches through Real Good Fish's 'Bay2Tray' program. School officials said they have served Blue Catfish for a few years now, but now do so with the company.
The initiative is designed to remove the invasive species from the Chesapeake Bay and introduce it to school lunch trays.
“70% of the bay's biomass is blue catfish. It's eating the oysters and the crabs, and all of the things that make the bay so wonderful in this region," Holly Nuss with Real Good Fish said. "If we do not eradicate this fish, it's going to destroy the ecosystem."
Through Bay2Tray, Real Good Fish helps source the fish cakes for the school system. The program emphasizes locally sourced seafood, which school officials say benefits both students and regional watermen.
“We need to source locally. One, it's more nutritious for our students because it's not traveling as far, and second, we need to keep our local watermen and our farmers harvesting,” said Beth Brewster, Supervisor of Food Services for Caroline County Public Schools.
Nuss said the fish also offers nutritional benefits.
“The amazing thing about blue catfish is that it's not a bottom-feeding catfish. It swims in the middle column, and it eats all of the yummy things like the crab. All of the things in the bay that make it so good," Nuss said. "Nutritionally, it's in the top ten most nutritious fish or seafood on the planet.”
School leaders say the effort also serves as a lesson beyond the classroom, helping students understand where their food comes from and how it connects to their local environment.
“When I was in school, we were basically eating a saucer and aluminum foil. You didn't know where it came from. The fact that these kids are learning that it's local, this is the Chesapeake Bay, this is where you live, I think that's really cool,” said Tyniqua Batason, cafeteria manager.
WBOC asked the real critics to rate the sandwich: the elementary schoolers eating it.
“It's very good. More people should try it," student Jayda Franco said.
“It's really good! Kind of reminds me of crab," another student, Leaf Stultz, said.
“It tastes like the future. And when I eat it, I go to Heaven," student Raymond Anderson said.
Nuss said that Real Good Fish, a company originating on the West Coast, is looking to expand to areas across the East Coast. It hopes to expand the Bay2Tray program beyond local schools to senior centers, universities, and prisons on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.