BlueCatfishMap

Native to the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, and Rio Grande Rivers, blue catfish were first introduced as a novel sportfish to the James River in the 1970s (Chesapeake Bay Program, 2020). The map below depicts observational records of the spatial and temporal invasion of blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay. Individuals found in the main stem of the Bay are likely transient and their presence in these areas demonstrates the wide salinity tolerance (up to 15.7 practical salinity units) of the species. Today, blue catfish present opportunities for trophy and commercial fisheries but also challenges for minimizing effects on native species as they have rapidly spread and are now found in most Chesapeake Bay tributaries. Because of the need to balance these differing stakeholder interests, any bay-wide management response will likely require a tributary-by-tributary strategy