Maryland’s natural resources department is incentivizing commercial watermen and charter boat captains to capture blue catfish in order to reduce the abundance of the invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Blue catfish are considered an invasive species to the Chesapeake Bay region, after they were introduced decades ago to rivers on Virginia’s Western Shore and later spread to Maryland.
“Blue catfish – Ictalurus furcatus – are problematic due to their voracious and indiscriminate appetites, high reproductive rate, and potential to harm native species, some of which are commercially and recreationally important to Maryland, including blue crabs,” according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Fortunately, blue catfish have a delicious taste, which make them prime targets for humans not only to capture but to eat.
“The silver lining to the challenges blue catfish pose in the Chesapeake Bay is they taste great,” said DNR Invasive Fishes Program Manager Branson Williams in a statement. “These pilot programs aim to reduce barriers for commercial fishermen to catch and sell more blue catfish. Our goal is to reduce biomass, and these programs will help with those efforts.”
DNR is launching two new pilot programs to encourage commercial watermen and charter boat captains to get the blue catfish on the hook – and financially benefit from their capture.
Through the Blue Catfish For-Hire/Commercial Pilot Program, participants can operate for-hire and commercial fishing trips at the same time. The program also removes crew limits for commercial hook-and-line fishing trips that are focused on catching blue catfish.
There is not a maximum limit for the number of applicants who can participate in the pilot program. In order to be eligible, applicants must have an appropriate commercial fishing license, their charter trip should target blue catfish, and the applicants must report daily on their charter trip and commercial activity.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is also planning to relax prohibitions on finfish trotlines south of the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial (Bay) Bridge through the Mid- and Lower-Bay Finfish Trotline Pilot Program.
A trotline is a heavy fishing line connected to shorter branch lines that are baited to catch fish.
Trotlines accounted for 26% of the blue catfish that were harvested in Maryland between 2019 and 2023, DNR officials reported.
As part of the pilot program, a small number of harvesters will be allowed to use finfish trotlines in the mainstem Chesapeake Bay south of the Bay Bridge.
To participate, applicants must possess an appropriate license and must use an electronic reporting form or logbook provided by the department to report harvests after each trip.
Current license holders can still use finfish trotlines to harvest blue catfish and other fish in legal waters of the state without participating in this program.
Applications for the trotline pilot program are open through Feb. 20. Permits will be issued to a limited number of applicants.
Before proposing more widespread use, the department will evaluate bycatch, user conflicts, and other issues during the pilot period.
Blue catfish aren’t the only invasive species that Maryland officials are encouraging anglers to capture. DNR is encouraging people to fish for the northern snakehead fish, also known as the Chesapeake Channa.
Last year, the federal government denied Maryland’s request for fisheries disaster aid. So, the state has been implementing its own efforts to address invasive blue catfish and snakeheads.
DNR officials even liken the Chesapeake Channa’s mild taste and firm texture to that of the blue catfish.
Are they also working to create a market for the catfish ?