USDA announces $8 million initiative to combat invasive blue catfish in Chesapeake Bay
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday announced an $8 million initiative to control the spread of invasive blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay.
The initiative includes $6 million in grant funding through the USDA's Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. The grants are available to seafood processors to modernize facilities, expand operations and support the commercial processing of invasive catfish, turning them into products such as animal feed.
An additional $2 million will go toward purchasing Chesapeake Bay blue catfish through a one-year pilot program.
Grant awards will range from $250,000 to $1 million. Applicants must contribute at least 50 percent of their project's total cost. Applications are due via Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 6.
In a written statement, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called the the project an all-around win. "A win for our rural communities who now have a new processing facility that will support good-paying jobs, a win for our fishermen who are ridding the Chesapeake of a destructive invasive species, and a win for our local communities who have another source of protein for the charitable feeding network,"
Blue catfish threaten bay ecology and economy
Blue catfish, an invasive species, have become a challenge to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem since being introduced to Maryland waters in the 1990s and 2000s, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The DNR says blue catfish primarily feed on fish species native to the bay, including blue crabs, clams, and mussels.
This in turn can have both a negative ecological and economic impact, especially with the blue crab population in Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake Bay at its lowest in 35 years.
Blue crab population numbers are used as an overall indicator of the bay's health. Maryland's crab industry adds $600 million to the state's economy annually.
Lawmakers target blue catfish in federal legislation
The MAWS Act of 2025, introduced by Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), proposes a three-year, $6 million federal pilot program that would incentivize the commercial purchase of invasive blue catfish.
Congress would provide $2 million per year to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) between 2027 and 2029 under the bill.
Then, those funds would be given to pet food manufacturers, animal feed producers, and aquaculture feed companies to purchase blue catfish from fishermen and seafood processors.
