Blue catfish are in the news again.
VPM’s Lawmakers want Virginians to eat more blue catfish and The Cool Down’s Officials devise unconventional plan to eliminate invasive fish species: 'There are 100 million of them' discuss the state’s current plan to reduce the blue cat proliferation. Introduced by the Department of Wildlife Resources in the early 70s to create recreational trophy fisheries, blue catfish are now a significant threat to other species, valuable species.
The state, in its infinite wisdom, wants Virginians to eat blue cats to reduce the threat to, say, crabs. But let’s be frank: There is no way Virginians and visitors can alone make a dent in the blue catfish population.
The state could have invested multiple millions in processing, as was proposed last year. Chesapeake Bay Magazine’s Funding Slashed for VA Blue Catfish Commercial Fishery explains:
They were brought here with the best of intentions. But blue catfish have become a menace in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, and the Commonwealth of Virginia is trying to build a robust commercial fishery to curb their population. Unfortunately, efforts to fund it for $4 million were cut in half and then, just before the bill’s passage, slashed to just $250,000.
The state ended up awarding $250,000 to Sea Farms to process blue catfish. Learn more in Blue catfish are invasive in Virginia. The state is paying to get more of them on people’s tables. and Governor announces Blue Catfish Processing Grant Award.
You might also want to read ICYMI: Increased processing = more blue catfish on dinner tables, published on the blog earlier this year.
I, of course, went straight to a tiara when I thought about the problem of blue catfish. In Blue Catfish and the Chesapeake Bay, the Basics, I pitched the idea of a blue cat festival to the Northumberland County Economic Development Commission featuring, you got it, a tiara (one option to the right). Tiara aside, a festival revolving around the blue catfish could be a winner for the Northern Neck.