Blue Catfish Invasive Species

Invasive species always have varying impacts on the ecosystem to which they are introduced. The introduction of the blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) has been treated with opposition from some due to its potential to wipe out native species, thus affecting the balance of the ecosystem in question. However, many believe that the value of the blue catfish as a sport and commercial target fish outweighs the harm done to the native populations or ecosystems. As the blue catfish is a predatory fish with no known natural predators in US waters, fisherman report that blue catfish have been replacing native sport fish is some areas and outcompeting other species for food resources as well. While this does negatively affect the commercial and sport
More specifically, aquatic invasive species have the capability to change factors such as water quality, species diversity, and aquatic vegetation which in turn affects industries that depend on that ecosystem. The United States has had 138 invasive aquatic species (Pimentel, Zuniga & Morrison 2005) introduced to its waterways, mostly in regions that typically have a warm climate. Due to the introduction and subsequent establishment of these species, forty-four different species of fish native to the United States are currently threatened or endangered. A study recently conducted put the economic and ecological costs to the United States from the negative effects of invasive species to be around 137 billion dollars annually (Pimentel et al. 2000). The Chesapeake Bay Watershed, one of Virginia’s and the East Coast’s biggest and most important waterways has been in recent years affected in this way by several invasive species, the most serious species being the blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus). The blue catfish is marked in both Virginia and Maryland as one of the top five “species of concern” (Higgins 2006) regarding damage potential to the ecosystem and the industries that are supported by it. While blue catfish are native to the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri river basins in the south and central area of the United States (Schloesser et al. 2011), they are not indigenous to any waterways of Virginia. Blue catfish were originally introduced to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed in the 1980’s as part of an attempt by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to improve the sport fishing industry of Virginia and the surrounding areas. These fish were only ever intentionally stocked in the James, Mattaponi, and