2014 Invasive Catfish Task Force Report

Description

The Invasive Catfish Task Force (ICTF) was established in 2012 by the Chesapeake Bay Program's Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team, and tasked with developing and recommending management options that could be applied Bay-wide in response to the spread of invasive blue and flathead catfish populations in the Chesapeake Bay region. The ICTF is comprised of members from the state and local fishery management jurisdictions of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the District of Columbia, representatives from the Potomac River Fisheries Commission and  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), academic experts from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), and seafood marketing specialists from Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Marine Products Board. The ICTF met several times in person and via teleconference to compile and evaluate existing information on blue and flathead catfishes and to discuss potential management options. The ICTF also briefed the Fisheries GIT and stakeholders on draft recommendations during the preparation of this report.

This report offers recommendations to address the following four objectives: 

1. Slow and reduce the spread of invasive catfishes into currently uninvaded waters;
2. Minimize the ecological impacts of invasive catfishes on native species;
3. Promote a large-scale fishery to significantly reduce abundance of invasive catfishes and provide economic benefits to the region; and
4. Increase outreach and education and broadcast the message that blue and flathead catfishes are not native to the Chesapeake Bay and negatively impact native ecosystems. Outreach is also needed to emphasize that public assistance is needed to avoid additional unauthorized introductions within the Bay watershed.