The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday announced an $8 million initiative to control the spread of invasive blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay. The initiative includes $6 million in grant funding through the USDA's Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. The grants are available to seafood processors to modernize facilities, expand operations and support the commercial processing of invasive catfish, turning them into products such as animal feed. An additional $2 million will go toward purchasing Chesapeake Bay blue catfish through a one-year pilot program.
Grant awards will range from $250,000 to $1 million. Applicants must contribute at least 50 percent of their project's total cost. Applications are due via Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 6.
In a written statement, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called the the project an all-around win. "A win for our rural communities who now have a new processing facility that will support good-paying jobs, a win for our fishermen who are ridding the Chesapeake of a destructive invasive species, and a win for our local communities who have another source of protein for the charitable feeding network,"
The MAWS Act of 2025, introduced by Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), proposes a three-year, $6 million federal pilot program that would incentivize the commercial purchase of invasive blue catfish. Congress would provide $2 million per year to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) between 2027 and 2029 under the bill. Then, those funds would be given to pet food manufacturers, animal feed producers, and aquaculture feed companies to purchase blue catfish from fishermen and seafood processors.
It seems they finally realized there is not enough interest in eating catfish for people to eat all the Blue and Flathead Catfish in the Bay. That's too bad, because they are very good eating, and easy to catch.
The Wombat has posted Rule 5 Sunday: Karin Hart at the usual time and place.
No comments:
Post a Comment