Blue catfish were introduced to a few rivers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed decades ago. It was thought that these fish only lived in very fresh water. But they can tolerate water that is not entirely fresh. That means that they can swim out of one river, into the more brackish Bay, and then into a different, fairly fresh river. As a result, these fish have expanded their range throughout the Chesapeake.
Experts say that in terms of appetite and willingness to gorge on just about anything, blue catfish have few peers in the Chesapeake Bay.
“They’re eating everything, anything they can get their mouths around,” said Noah Bressman, a fish biologist at Salisbury University in Maryland.
Now, a clearer picture of their ecological toll is emerging.
LINK. (via Bay Journal)
