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Blue Catfish Taking Over Northern Virginia: Oops
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:00 pm
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:00 pm
Virginia Dept of Inland Fisheries released blue catfish into rivers in Northern Virgina (James, Rappahannok, Potomac) in the 1970s. Now they are up to 80% of the biomass in those rivers, and spreading out into the Chesapeake Bay and all of its tributaries.
Electrofishing For Blue Cats in VA
This post was edited on 2/5/20 at 9:05 pm
7
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:03 pm to No Colors
OCMS wrote a song about this, “James River Blues”.
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:09 pm to No Colors
That’s some good eaten.
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:16 pm to bbvdd
quote:
That’s some good eaten.
They have issued the first four "commercial electrofishing licenses" ever issued in the US. One license and boat for each of four rivers. They had one guy do it for three years as a test case. He filled his boat with 4000# on every trip in less than 3 hours, dock to dock. Never put a dent in them.
For whatever reason, the shock doesnt roll up any species other than catfish. And they don't know why. They're beginning to suspect it is because there basically aren't any other species.
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:24 pm to No Colors
Ain't never been telephonin', baw? That shite only works on catfish! I've AT&T'd a few in my time.
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:25 pm to No Colors
It’s because the shock is effective on smooth skin fish more than scaled fish.
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:29 pm to baylorbaiter
quote:
Ain't never been telephonin', baw? That shite only works on catfish! I've AT&T'd a few in my time.
I have electrofished and rolled up tons of bass, crappie, shad, buffalo, etc. It worked on eveything.
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:45 pm to No Colors
It doesn't make any scientific sense that an apex predator like a catfish could be 80% of the biomass of any body of water.
It's bad sampling or bad calculations.
That's not to say they aren't overpopulated, but 80% of the biomass isn't possible.
It's bad sampling or bad calculations.
That's not to say they aren't overpopulated, but 80% of the biomass isn't possible.
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:53 pm to No Colors
shite they just need some coonasses to go drink some beer and run some trot lines and jugs and probably a few hoop nets. Still not sure how blue cats could get overpopulated though.
Posted on 2/5/20 at 9:55 pm to baylorbaiter
quote:
Ain't never been telephonin', baw? That shite only works on catfish! I've AT&T'd a few in my time.
Posted on 2/5/20 at 10:08 pm to upgrayedd
They were becoming prevalent when I was there in 80s.
From what folks there tell me now they are like aquatic wild hogs
From what folks there tell me now they are like aquatic wild hogs
Posted on 2/5/20 at 10:11 pm to choupiquesushi
If those numbers are even close to true, then do nothing and the population will collapse on itself when they have nothing else to eat but each other. Harvesting them at this point would only help cement their dominance of the biomass.
Posted on 2/6/20 at 12:26 am to baylorbaiter
quote:
That shite only works on catfish! I've AT&T'd a few in my time.
I have watched TVA Biologists from their fisheries Dept. doing it, and talked to them about it.
They were getting all kinds of fish, depending on bottom structure and depth.
They were using leads of a welding machine to make their calls. It was pretty interesting stuff.
Posted on 2/6/20 at 12:51 am to deeprig9
quote:
they have nothing else to eat but each other
And there’s the rub. Catfish are perfectly capable of creating a food chain all by themselves, and blue cats are not picky eaters.
Posted on 2/6/20 at 6:51 am to No Colors
I went with LDEQ a couple times on their shock / sampling boat. They had a switch that changed something with the electric current to shock just the catfish or just scale fish. Those guys normal 8 hour workday was shock fish, filet and deliver to a lab. I’m sure they never filet a few extra.
Posted on 2/6/20 at 8:25 am to No Colors
The cats are keeping the snakehead population down.
Posted on 2/6/20 at 8:27 am to No Colors
quote:
For whatever reason, the shock doesnt roll up any species other than catfish. And they don't know why. They're beginning to suspect it is because there basically aren't any other species.
They shouyld have just asked a redneck, electroshock has always worked far better on skinned fish than scaled or so I have heard.
Need to strep their ganme up to the 5 bar generator to get scaled fish, 3 bar only works on cats.
Posted on 2/6/20 at 9:07 am to No Colors
I wonder why they don't do this for Carp? People don't eat them like catfish, I guess?
Posted on 2/6/20 at 11:39 am to No Colors
quote:
He filled his boat with 4000# on every trip in less than 3 hours, dock to dock. Never put a dent in them
Make more trips until he makes a dent.
Posted on 2/6/20 at 7:34 pm to REB BEER
(no message)
This post was edited on 2/7/20 at 5:17 am
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