Are blue catfish native to Florida?

Where do blue catfish come from?

Blue catfish are native to the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Rio Grande river basins. Blue catfish have been stocked as a recreational catch in almost 20 states. During the 1970s and 1980s, they were introduced to the James, Rappahannock, and York river basins in Virginia as a new recreational fishery.

Can blue catfish tolerate high salinity?

But blue catfish were able to tolerate higher salinity than anticipated. They swam out into the Bay and back into other rivers. And people moved them from one river to another, too.

Are blue catfish native to the Chesapeake Bay?

Blue catfish are native to the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Rio Grande river basins; they have been stocked for fishing in nearly 20 states. In the Chesapeake Bay, blue catfish are considered an invasive species.

Is blue blue catfish an invasive species?

Blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus, recognized as a freshwater species, is an invasive species in tidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay. Salinity tolerance of this species, though likely to determine its potential range expansion and dispersal in estuarine habitats, is not well-known.

Can blue catfish tolerance to salinity tolerance increase?

Such upregulation of salinity tolerance at the egg stage suggests that salinity tolerance of blue catfish may increase as the population expands into estuarine waters; upregulation may allow blue catfish to exploit a large portion of the Chesapeake Bay, possibly even exceeding the exploitable areas predicted here.

What salinities limit the long-term occupation of estuarine habitats by blue catfish?

In addition to mortality, high salinities may have sublethal effects on growth [ 1 ], reproduction [ 39] and metabolic rates [ 1] of fishes. Therefore, salinities > 9 psu may further limit the long-term occupation of estuarine habitats by blue catfish.

Will blue catfish expand their range in the Chesapeake Bay?

We hypothesized that blue catfish will exhibit a relatively high salinity tolerance, allowing the species to expand in range throughout the Chesapeake Bay region. Our aim was to predict the suitability of different Chesapeake Bay habitats to illustrate potential colonization routes of blue catfish.

Are blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay invasive?

In the Chesapeake Bay, blue catfish are considered an invasive species. They have expanded their range and population so much that they are likely negatively affecting the Bay ecosystem because they eat so many native species, such as striped bass, blue crab, shad, herring, and Atlantic sturgeon.

Where do blue catfish live in Maryland?

Since then, they have spread rapidly to major tributaries in Maryland and Virginia, and the surrounding Chesapeake Bay watershed. Plant matter, worms, clams, small crustaceans, mussels, crabs, insects, frogs and smaller fish The blue catfish is a large, smooth-skinned fish with a slate blue body and whisker-like barbels around its mouth.

Are blue catfish here to stay?

Blue catfish are here to stay. Left unchecked, they threaten native species, including endangered and commercially important species. The commercial and recreational fisheries are helping to control the population.

How tolerant are blue catfish to salinity?

Researchers from Virginia Institute of Marine Science found that blue catfish are highly tolerant to salinity, and that tolerance appears to increase with size.

Why do ictalurid catfishes have a high salinity tolerance?

Kendall and Schwartz [ 37] hypothesized that the relatively less permeable integument of catfishes might allow them to tolerate greater osmotic stress resulting in the somewhat high salinity tolerance of ictalurid catfishes.

Can blue catfish use brackish habitats to colonize new river systems?

Habitat suitability predictions based on our laboratory results indicate that blue catfish can use brackish habitats to colonize new river systems, particularly during wet months when salinity decreases throughout the tidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay.

What is the salinity tolerance of freshwater fish?

However, freshwater fishes vary in their salinity tolerances; some are stenohaline and do not survive in salinities > 5 psu [practical salinity units]), whereas other species are euryhaline and can survive in salinities in excess of full strength seawater (34 psu; [ 5 ]).

Where do blue catfish live in the Bay?

But blue catfish were able to tolerate higher salinity than anticipated. They swam out into the Bay and back into other rivers. And people moved them from one river to another, too. They are now in most of the Bay’s river systems, in Maryland and Virginia’s Eastern and Western Shores.

Are there invasive catfish in the Bay?

In addition to blue catfish, flathead catfish are also invasive in the Bay. But their numbers are not as great as blue catfish and they are more limited to freshwater. Managers hope to increase public awareness of blue catfish.

What is the largest catfish in the Chesapeake Bay?

They are the largest of the catfish family in North America and can attain weights in excess of 100 pounds. The Maryland state record blue catfish is 84 pounds. As an introduced species, blue catfish are now commonly found in the tidal Potomac River and some of the other tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay.

How big do blue blue catfish get?

Blue catfish commonly attain weights of 20 to 40 pounds, and may reach weights well in excess of 100 pounds. It is reported that fish exceeding 350 pounds were landed from the Mississippi River during the late 1800’s. Warranty: Fish are guaranteed to be delivered lively and come with a 24 hour guarantee.

What is the Maryland state record for blue catfish?

The Maryland state record blue catfish is 84 pounds. As an introduced species, blue catfish are now commonly found in the tidal Potomac River and some of the other tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Studies are currently underway to determine their impact on other aquatic species.

Do blue catfish eat blue crabs?

But blue catfish eat basically everything, including blue crabs and other fish. Not only do they compete with other larger fish for food … they eat those other fish, too. As a result, these apex predators are throwing the food web off balance. about blue catfish in recent years.

Do people keep this catfish species as a pet?

No, people do not keep this catfish species as a pet. They grow much too large to keep in home aquariums. Some aquariums house these large fish in their collections.

Where do blue catfish live in the US?

Blue catfish can be found in the waters of many states—both coastal and inland. Native to the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Rio Grande river basins, they have been introduced to other areas, primarily to serve as a recreational fishing target.

What is the optimal salinity for the growth of aquatica testudineus?

In conclusion, feeding 320 g CP/kg diet is recommended for cost‐effective growth of A. testudineus reared in ISW at 8 g/L salinity.

How much salinity is needed to raise striped catfish?

These findings suggest that the striped catfish larvae could be reared in salinity up to 5 to 10 psu with a higher survival and tolerance to thermal stress when compared to fish maintained in freshwater.

How does salinity affect the development of fish?

Among other factors, many studies have reported an influence of water salinity on fish development and growth. In most species, egg fertilization and incubation, yolk sac resorption, early embryogenesis, swimbladder inflation, larval growth are dependent on salinity.

What habitat do blue blue catfish live in?

Blue catfish have also expanded into tidal oligohaline (salinity < 5 psu) and mesohaline (5–18 psu) habitats throughout Chesapeake Bay ( Fig 1; [ 8, 10 ]) where they feed on vegetation, molluscs, and fishes [ 11 ].

How much salinity is too high in a river?

Adverse biological effects begin to occur in freshwater rivers when salinity exceeds 1,500EC. Almost all adult native freshwater fish species can tolerate quite high salinities (16,000EC) with some species able to withstand sea water (56,000EC).