Fourth generation waterman Rocky Rice, left, and his fishing partner Brent Thomas check fish pots on the Potomac River in Charles County, Md., on Sept. 20, 2017. Rice can catch up to 1,200 pounds of blue catfish. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Just spent a weekend on the Rappahannock River south of the 360 bridge. The only species of fish my son and I caught were Blue Catfish. Upwards of 70-80 over a 2 day period.
Hi Trace, unfortunately, we do not have a presentation on invasive blue catfish to share. But you are welcome to use all the information and media on our website.
Can you make a presentation about blue catfish in the bay for 6th graders? I need it for a really important school project. Thank you
Has anyone ever thought about shocking the blues putting them in a truck and driving them to San Diego lakes. I'm sure the lakes here would take as many as you could put on a truck. I would drive them here and drop off in our lakes. You have so many ways to solve the problem. Just ask someone who fishes relocating I am more than willing to drive a truck full of blues and drop in our lakes thank you Eric Murry
What methods?
it didn't tell me anything about how they were succsesful.
I am doing an invasive species project and I need something that shows how the flathead catfish disrupts its native environment.
Greg, blue catfish were introduced into the Rappahannock and James rivers by the state of Va. in the 1970s to support sport fishing. The Chesapeake Bay Program is actively working with entities across the watershed to manage the population. This blog has more information you might find interesting! https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/understanding_the_threat_of_invasive_catfish.
I was out fishing this past weekend near the Bay Bridge for Rock Fish. We did not catch any Rock but did catch 19 Blue Catfish. Most in the 24 to 30 inch verity. I am reading these articles to find out what is going on. Yes, they were fun to catch but a little creepy as well. First of all, it should be a red flag when any state or jurisdictional regulator decides to introduce anything that isn't native to the area and I would have hoped that regulators would have passed laws against this nonsense. We as a species do not have the intelligence to know when not to interfere with the natural course of life. We think we are clever to introduce something into the environment that will take care of another nuisance only to realize we have created a bigger problem. With that said, if these fish were introduced from the Mississippi River, why would we not know how they interact with other species found in that tributary and be able to determine what impact we can expect on the Chesapeake?
The Chesapeake Bay Program (www.chesapeakebay.net) convened an Invasive Catfish Task Force to look at blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay. The task force is a subset of our Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team and information on their work can be found at - https://www.chesapeakebay.net/who/group/invasive_catfish_task_force.
I am researching for a project and would find it very helpful if there was a link to this organization that is taking action.
Blue and Flathead Catfish are the best thing to happen to our region and here we are decades later and the food chain hasn't collapsed, take your scare tactics to an uninformed populace.
Can you provide a source link to the research papers that show that the Blue Catfish is an invasive species to any waterway in Virginia? It's my understanding during a public meeting that no one has any research that showed that they were(2014). Would like to see any new studies that have been submitted for peer-review that shows clearly that Blue Catfish are invasive.
Thank you,
Thank you!
Your comment has been received. Before it can be published, the comment will be reviewed by our team to ensure it adheres with our rules of engagement.
Comments
Just spent a weekend on the Rappahannock River south of the 360 bridge. The only species of fish my son and I caught were Blue Catfish. Upwards of 70-80 over a 2 day period.
Hi Trace, unfortunately, we do not have a presentation on invasive blue catfish to share. But you are welcome to use all the information and media on our website.
Can you make a presentation about blue catfish in the bay for 6th graders? I need it for a really important school project. Thank you
Has anyone ever thought about shocking the blues putting them in a truck and driving them to San Diego lakes. I'm sure the lakes here would take as many as you could put on a truck. I would drive them here and drop off in our lakes. You have so many ways to solve the problem. Just ask someone who fishes relocating I am more than willing to drive a truck full of blues and drop in our lakes thank you Eric Murry
What methods?
it didn't tell me anything about how they were succsesful.
I am doing an invasive species project and I need something that shows how the flathead catfish disrupts its native environment.
Greg, blue catfish were introduced into the Rappahannock and James rivers by the state of Va. in the 1970s to support sport fishing. The Chesapeake Bay Program is actively working with entities across the watershed to manage the population. This blog has more information you might find interesting! https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/understanding_the_threat_of_invasive_catfish.
I was out fishing this past weekend near the Bay Bridge for Rock Fish. We did not catch any Rock but did catch 19 Blue Catfish. Most in the 24 to 30 inch verity. I am reading these articles to find out what is going on. Yes, they were fun to catch but a little creepy as well. First of all, it should be a red flag when any state or jurisdictional regulator decides to introduce anything that isn't native to the area and I would have hoped that regulators would have passed laws against this nonsense. We as a species do not have the intelligence to know when not to interfere with the natural course of life. We think we are clever to introduce something into the environment that will take care of another nuisance only to realize we have created a bigger problem. With that said, if these fish were introduced from the Mississippi River, why would we not know how they interact with other species found in that tributary and be able to determine what impact we can expect on the Chesapeake?
The Chesapeake Bay Program (www.chesapeakebay.net) convened an Invasive Catfish Task Force to look at blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay. The task force is a subset of our Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team and information on their work can be found at - https://www.chesapeakebay.net/who/group/invasive_catfish_task_force.
I am researching for a project and would find it very helpful if there was a link to this organization that is taking action.
Blue and Flathead Catfish are the best thing to happen to our region and here we are decades later and the food chain hasn't collapsed, take your scare tactics to an uninformed populace.
Can you provide a source link to the research papers that show that the Blue Catfish is an invasive species to any waterway in Virginia? It's my understanding during a public meeting that no one has any research that showed that they were(2014). Would like to see any new studies that have been submitted for peer-review that shows clearly that Blue Catfish are invasive.
Thank you,
Thank you!
Your comment has been received. Before it can be published, the comment will be reviewed by our team to ensure it adheres with our rules of engagement.
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