Community News · Caroline County
Caroline County Schools Serve Invasive Blue Catfish to Help Protect Chesapeake Bay
Preston Elementary School in Caroline County, Maryland, serves blue catfish fish cakes called "catty patties" a couple times a month as part of a state-led effort to control an invasive species threatening native blue crabs and rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay. The blue catfish was introduced to Virginia rivers in the 1970s for recreational fishing but spread into Maryland's tidal tributaries after record rainfall in 2018, now comprising up to 70% of fish biomass in some rivers. School districts in both Maryland and Virginia serve the fish, which is also distributed to food banks and grocery stores. Processing remains a bottleneck because federal rules require a USDA inspector on site, limiting how many Maryland seafood processors can handle the catch.