Species of Fish in Chesapeake Bay Updated

Species of Fish in Chesapeake Bay

A scientist holds a blue catfish. Credit: Chesapeake Bay Program.

Situations that are truly win-win are few and far between. But, resource managers and foodies alike hold: Eating blue catfish from the Chesapeake Bay is tasty and nutritious一and it is good for the ecosystem.

Bluish catfish are considered an invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay. They were introduced to several rivers on Virginia's Western Shore decades agone. People thought that these fish, which like fresh h2o, would stay in those rivers. But bluish catfish were able to tolerate higher salinity than anticipated. They swam out into the Bay and dorsum into other rivers. And people moved them from one river to another, also. They are now in most of the Bay's river systems, in Maryland and Virginia'southward Eastern and Western Shores.

Some people are happy to come across blue catfish. They are fun targets for angling because they grow big and can provide a challenge for recreational fishermen. Only blue catfish swallow basically everything, including blue crabs and other fish. Not only practice they compete with other larger fish for nutrient … they eat those other fish, besides. As a outcome, these noon predators are throwing the food web off remainder.

Fishery biologists take learned more nigh blue catfish in recent years. And resources managers have been working to identify means to keep the population from getting out of manus. The Chesapeake Bay Programme, in which NOAA is a key partner, has an Invasive Catfish Workgroup that has focused on the trouble. Recently, this Workgroup approved an Invasive Catfish Management Strategy (PDF, 21 pages) to guide efforts around the Bay to manage invasive catfish. In addition to blue catfish, flathead catfish are also invasive in the Bay. But their numbers are not equally great equally blue catfish and they are more limited to freshwater.

Enjoying Bluish Catfish

Managers hope to increase public awareness of blue catfish. They want people to empathise the furnishings of bluish catfish on the Bay and to know that they are succulent and nutritious. A 4-ounce serving of blue catfish includes 19 grams of protein, with merely 90 calories and one.5 grams of fat. And they include healthy Omega-3 fat acids, also. Blue catfish is already available in many grocery and seafood stores.

Adult blue catfish are not lesser feeders, so they don't go the "muddy" taste some catfish exercise. Their taste has been likened to striped bass, another Bay favorite. To help people learn how to use these invasive fish in their kitchen, collections of recipes using blueish catfish are even available!

Seasoned and grilled is one way to savor this tasty seafood.

Blue catfish that live a long fourth dimension in the Bay can accumulate toxins in their bodies. These older fish also grow quite large. Research has helped regulators understand size limits for blue catfish that are healthy to eat. For example, Maryland recommends that recreational anglers fishing for dinner should go along their catches to smaller than 30 inches. And so the new management strategy includes guidelines to keep fish available from the commercial fishery to beneath a sure size. And recreational anglers angling for dinner should keep their catches to less than 24 inches. The good news is that this keeps the big fish in the water as a challenge for the anglers who target the larger trophy fish.

Chesapeake Bay blue catfish products that are available in grocery and seafood stores are routinely inspected by the U.Due south. Department of Agriculture. That ways the blue catfish you serve your family is tasty, nutritious, and safe. Enjoy!