Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission fish culturist Andy Severns prepares to stock blue catfish
fingerlings into the Ohio River near Point State Park in Pittsburgh. (Courtesy of Penn. Fish & Boat Comm.)
Pennsylvania to Restore Ohio River Basin Blues
By Keith “Catfish” Sutton
A fish considered highly invasive in the Chesapeake Bay now swims free as a native in Pennsylvania’s Ohio River basin.
In the 1970s, blue catfish were introduced to the Chesapeake Bay, and their population has since grown rapidly. These large, hungry fish now pose a threat to native species like shad, menhaden, and blue crabs.
While they cause problems in the Bay, blue catfish are being released in parts of Pennsylvania where they are native. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) started a restoration plan in 2022 to bring back a sustainable population of native blue catfish in the Three Rivers area, which includes the Ohio, lower Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers in Pittsburgh.
In the summer of 2022, PFBC’s Tionesta State Fish Hatchery received blue catfish eggs and became the first hatchery in Pennsylvania to raise them. PFBC staff released tens of thousands of blue catfish fingerlings into the Ohio River in the fall of 2022 and 2023. More releases are planned for 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Blue catfish disappeared from Pennsylvania in the early 1900s due to pollution and habitat changes. The fish being released now will only go into the Three Rivers area. They are not native to the Atlantic Slope basins in Pennsylvania, such as the Delaware, Potomac, and Susquehanna rivers, as well as Lake Erie. Outside their native range, they are considered highly invasive.
A blog by B.J. Small, Communications and Media Manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, explores more about blue catfish in this region. Posted on June 21, 2024, “Blue Catfish Conundrum” can be read by clicking here.
