Catfish in the Patuxent

[alabamaangler]

I've been catching a lot of blue catfish in the Patuxent lately and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on if its ok to eat them out of there? Any thoughts?

[Cowpokey]

I've been catching a lot of blue catfish in the Patuxent lately and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on if its ok to eat them out of there? Any thoughts?

I don't see Pax river listed.

http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Marylander/CitizensInfoCenterHome/Documents/Fish%20Consumption%20Docs/Maryland_Fish_Advisories_2014_Web_bluecatedit.pdf

[Photocat]

MDE took a lot of the catfish advisories down to encourage the taking and consuming of the catfish in general (with DNR emphasis on the Blue Cats because they don't like them being in the river systems) when DNR started waging war on the Blue Cats as "invasive" as a means to get them out of the water.

I've never heard of anyone getting sick from eating them on any river in MD, though the cumulative effects I can't say for sure. I wouldn't think they would be all that bad as long as you are only eating the smaller (under 24" fish) that haven't been in the water system long enough to accumulate the toxins from the water in high enough levels.

[alabamaangler]

Thanks for the info!

[moc]

I agree, the blue cats that are in the 18 inch to 24 inch should be fine. They are a fast growing species, and if you take them at that size, then they are not around long enough to accumulate significant toxins. One thing about blue catfish, to me , they taste better than any other catfish out there. I also remote the skin from any catfish that I eat. I also remove the bloodline that goes down the center of a fillet of catfish.

[kevinfry]

I eat'em all the time, never had a problem
druss-mutant-large.jpg

[whenican]

Great to eat! Keep catching them!!