Blue catfish

{{short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | name = Blue catfish | image = Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) (53011311615).jpg | image2 = Bluecat5A.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn|author=NatureServe|year=2013|title=''Ictalurus furcatus''|article-number=e.T202679A18229857|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202679A18229857.en|access-date=4 August 2023}}</ref> | taxon = Ictalurus furcatus | authority = (Valenciennes, 1840)<ref>{{ITIS |id=163997 |taxon=Ictalurus furcatus |access-date=11 March 2006}} </ref> | range_map = Distribution map of blue catfish.png | range_map_caption = Native distribution of ''Ictalurus furcatus'' | synonyms = *''Pimelodus furcatus'' Valenciennes, 1840 *''Pimelodus affinis'' Baird & Girard, 1854 *''Amiurus meridionalis'' Günther, 1864 *''Amiurus pondersosus'' Bean, 1880<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferraris |first=Carl J. JR. |title=Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types |url=http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2007f/zt01418p300.pdf |access-date=June 24, 2023}}</ref> }} The '''blue catfish''' ('''''Ictalurus furcatus''''') is a large species of North American catfish, reaching a length of {{convert|65|in|cm|abbr=on}} and a weight of {{convert|143|lb|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dwr.virginia.gov/fishing/trophy-fish/state-records/ | title=Virginia State Record Fish }}</ref> The continent's largest catfish, it can live to 20 years, with a typical fish being between {{convert|25–46|in|cm|abbr=on}} and {{Convert|30–70|lb|kg|abbr=on}}. Native distribution is primarily in the Mississippi River and Louisiana drainage systems, including the Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Arkansas Rivers, the Des Moines River in south-central Iowa, the Rio Grande, and south along the Gulf Coast to Belize and Guatemala.<ref>{{FishBase|genus=Ictalurus|species=furcatus|year=2011|month=December}} </ref>

An omnivorous predator, it has been introduced in a number of reservoirs and rivers, notably the Santee Cooper lakes of Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie in South Carolina, the James River in Virginia, Powerton Lake in Pekin, Illinois, and Lake Springfield in Springfield, Illinois. It is also found in some lakes in Florida.<ref>Hook and Bullet website, at http://www.hookandbullet.com/fishing-lake-placid-placid-lakes-fl/ .</ref>

The blue catfish can tolerate brackish water, and thus can colonize along inland waterways of coastal regions.<ref>Graham, K. (1999) [http://fisheries.org/docs/pub_sympsample.pdf "A review of the biology and Management of Blue Catfish."] American Fisheries Society Symposium 24:37–49</ref> It is considered invasive in some areas, particularly the Albemarle Sound and Chesapeake Bay.<ref>National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/bay-invaders-blue-catfish-fishery#:~:text=While%20both%20fish%20are%20long,in%20Virginia%20was%20102%20pounds "Bay Invaders: The Blue Catfish Fishery."] Retrieved August 23rd, 2025.</ref>

== Evolution == The blue catfish is likely a direct descendant of ''Ictalurus lambda'', a prehistoric catfish that inhabited the central and southern United States during the Pliocene. The bones of ''I. lambda'' very closely resemble those of ''I. furcatus'' aside from a few minor differences.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Lundberg |first=J. G. |date=1975 |title=The Fossil Catfishes of North America. Claude W. Hibbard Memorial Volume II |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/48611 |journal=Papers on Paleontology |language=en-US |publisher=Museum of Paleontology, The University of Michigan |volume=II |issue=11 |pages=1–51 |hdl=2027.42/48611 }}</ref>

==Identification== thumb|Showing the barbed pectoral fin spine Blue catfish are often misidentified as channel catfish. Blue catfish are heavy bodied, blueish gray in color, and have a dorsal hump.<ref name="auto">[http://www.lakeouachita.org/lake-ouachita-catfish-identification-guide.htm Catfish in Lake Ouachita] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426125503/http://www.lakeouachita.org/lake-ouachita-catfish-identification-guide.htm |date=2016-04-26 }} Retrieved 1 July 2016</ref> The best way to tell the difference between a channel catfish and a blue catfish is to count the number of rays on the anal fin. A blue catfish has 30–36 rays, whereas a channel catfish has 25–29.<ref name="auto"/> Blue catfish also have barbels, a deeply forked tail, and a protruding upper jaw.<ref name="auto"/>

While adult blue catfish usually only grow to around {{convert|2|ft|m|spell=in}} they have been seen to grow up to at least {{convert|5|ft|m|spell=in}} in length and even weigh more than {{convert|100|lbs|kg}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=November 2, 2023 |title=Blue Catfish |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-catfish |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=NOAA |language=en}}</ref> {{Multiple image | direction = horizontal | total_width = 550 | image1 = Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) fry (53678765294).jpg | caption1 = Fry | image2 = Blue Catfish (52401728732).jpg | caption2 = Adult | align = center }} [[File:Blue_catfish_OdySea_Aquarium.jpg|thumb|Blue catfish at OdySea Aquarium.]]

==Diet== The blue catfish is an opportunistic predator, eating any species of fish it can take (including cannibalism), along with insects, crawfish, crabs, freshwater mussels, clams, worms, frogs, and other readily available aquatic food sources.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ictalurus_furcatus/|title=Ictalurus furcatus (Blue catfish)|first1=Yama|last1=Barekzi|first2=Maria|last2=Hawkins|first3=Jacob|last3=Sheets|website=Animal Diversity Web}}</ref>

The species is noted for taking injured fish beneath marauding schools of striped bass in open water in reservoirs, and feeding on wounded baitfish that have been washed through dam spillways or power-generation turbines. It is one of the few species of fish in the Mississippi River basin able to eat adult Asian carp.<ref>{{cite web |title=Asian carp being eaten by native fish, new studies find |url=https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/asian_carp_being_eaten_by_native_fish_new_studies_find |website=MSU Extension |access-date=7 September 2019 |language=en|date=24 February 2015|first=Dan|last=O'Keefe}}</ref>

== Population == The blue catfish are a highly productive species, spawning once a year from May to June. Females can produce 2,000 to 4,000 eggs per pound (0.45 kg) of body weight, meaning a {{convert|20|lb|1|adj=on}} blue catfish can produce upwards of 40,000 eggs.<ref name=":0" />

== As an invasive == [[File:Blue catfish skeleton.jpg|thumb|Skeleton, at the Museum of Osteology]] thumb|left|Closeup of mouth The ability of the blue catfish to tolerate a wide range of climates and brackish water has allowed it to thrive in Virginia's rivers, lakes, tributaries, and the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, the relatively low mortality rate, large body size, wide range of species preyed upon, and success as a predator has resulted in the blue catfish being considered a problematic invasive species in Virginia. Since their introduction in Virginia waters in the 1970s,<ref name="auto1">Greenlee, R. S., and C. N. Lim. 2011. Searching for equilibrium: population parameters and variable recruitment in introduced Blue Catfish populations in four Virginia tidal river systems. Pages 349–367 in P. H. Michaletz and V. H. Travnichek, editors. Conservation, Ecology, and Management of Catfish, the second international symposium. American Fisheries Society, Symposium 77, Bethesda, Maryland.</ref> blue catfish populations have exploded. Recent electrofishing studies have documented capture rates in excess of 6,000 fish/hr,<ref name="auto1"/> whereas studies from the native range show peak electrofishing capture rates of 700 fish/hr.<ref>Boxrucker, J., and K. Kuklinski. 2008. Abundance, growth, and mortality of selected Oklahoma Blue Catfish populations: implications for management of trophy fisheries. Proceedings of the Annual Conference Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 60(2006):152–156. </ref> Clearly, blue catfish are a dominant species within the freshwater and oligohaline portions of Virginia's tidal rivers. The introduction of blue catfish in Virginia's tidal rivers was thought to have negative impacts on anadromous American shad, blueback herring, and alewife; however, predation of these species by blue catfish has been demonstrated to be minimal.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Predation and Prey Selectivity by Nonnative Catfish on Migrating Alosines in an Atlantic Slope Estuary|last=Schmitt|journal=Marine and Coastal Fisheries|volume=9|pages=108–125|display-authors=etal|date=2017|issue=1 |doi=10.1080/19425120.2016.1271844|bibcode=2017MCFis...9..108S |doi-access=free}}{{Dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{dead link|date=August 2023}}</ref> Researchers from Virginia Tech{{when|date=August 2023}} have found the species to be mostly herbivorous and omnivorous, with diets consisting largely of ''Hydrilla'' and Asian clams, both of which are invasive to the Chesapeake Bay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chesapeakecatfish.com/|title=Research on Blue Catfish in the Chesapeake Bay|author=Virginia Tech|website=Virginia Tech Fluvial Fishes Lab}}</ref> Blue crab, the most valuable species in the Chesapeake Bay, was also found in the diet with some regularity, with blue catfish consuming an estimated 400.7 metric tonnes in the Chesapeake alone.<ref>Predatory impacts of invasive Blue Catfish in an Atlantic coast estuary</ref>

==Record-setting fish==

An angling world record was set on May 22, 2005 with a {{convert|124|lb|1|adj=on}} blue catfish caught in the Mississippi River,<ref>[http://www.landbigfish.com/articles/default.cfm?ID=2390 Blue catfish receives world record status from the IGFA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311220949/http://www.landbigfish.com/articles/default.cfm?ID=2390 |date=2007-03-11 }} Retrieved 5 September 2006</ref><ref>[http://dnr.state.il.us/pubaffairs/2005/May/Catfish.htm IDNR Announces World's Largest Blue Catfish Caught] Retrieved 5 September 2006 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427062155/http://dnr.state.il.us/pubaffairs/2005/May/Catfish.htm |date=April 27, 2006 }}</ref> surpassing a {{convert|121.5|lb|adj=on}} specimen from Lake Texoma in Texas.

On June 18, 2011, a {{convert|143|lb|1|adj=on}} blue catfish was landed from Kerr Lake on the Virginia-North Carolina border. On June 22, 2011, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries certified it as the new state record.<ref>Dixon, Julia (June 22, 2011) [https://web.archive.org/web/20111107175436/http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/news/release.asp?id=301 News Release 143-Pound Blue Catfish Certified as State Record]. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.</ref> The fish had a length of 57 in (145 cm) and a girth of 47 in (120 cm).

The hand-line record is a {{convert|107|lb|1|adj=on}} blue catfish on {{convert|15|lb|adj=on}}-test braided line caught June 5, 2015 on the Potomac River using a sausage with a circle hook.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://Www.handlinefishing.com|title=Handling fishing Zac Gustafson|last=Howard}}</ref>

==See also== * Flathead catfish (''Pylodictis olivaris''), another very large North American catfish * Channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus),'' a species of North American catfish closely related to the blue catfish

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book |last=Salmon |first=M. H. III |title=The Catfish As A Metaphor |year=1997 |publisher=High-Lonesome Books |location=Silver City, New Mexico |isbn=0-944383-43-2 }}

==External links== {{Commons category|Ictalurus furcatus}} *[https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=740 Blue Catfish Factsheet]. USGS *{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Mississippi Catfish |short=x}}

Category:Fish of North America Category:Ictalurus Category:Freshwater fish of the Southeastern United States Category:Fish described in 1840 Category:Freshwater fish of North America