Eatin' Blue Catfish: Chesapeake Style

[Narrator] Something is sizzling in kitchens all around Maryland.

A new menu item, one of the state's best kept culinary secrets, but not for long.

Seafood with no claws to crack, or shells to shuck.

Maryland blue catfish is just good, clean eating in more ways than one.

-So good.

-So good.

Tastes great, less catfish filling the bay.

Because eating catfish can help stem the tide of an ecological invasion, boost local businesses, and protect a national treasure.

A movement is underway to get this flavorsome fish out of Chesapeake Bay waterways and on to dinner plates.

Meet the chefs and commercial fishers creatively cooking up designs to get people Eatin' Blue Catfish Chesapeake Style.

Eatin' Blue Catfish Chesapeake Style is made possible by...

The Maryland Department of Agriculture's Maryland's Best Seafood program, and by the MPT New Initiative's Fund established by Irene & Edward H. Kaplan.

♪♪ [Narrator] As light fades over the Potomac river Members of the Maryland Bowfishing Association prep their gear for the evening's expedition.

[Captain Bill Bates] We call it bow fishing.

It's actually hunting.

Um, you're hunting fish.

Tonight's target: blue catfish [Capt.

Bates] We're traveling 15, 20 miles a night looking for the biggest and the baddest blue cat out there.

Running a client charter for the night or a commercial operation.

Captain Bill Bates knows what he's talking about.

His 62-pound catch owned the Virgina state record in 2021 until someone caught a bigger blue cat the next year.

[Capt.

Bates] Let's just see how many catfish we can see.

Big or small though, the blue catfish earned its local nickname due its overwhelming numbers.

They're everywhere, just look at 'em.

Just laying on top of each other.

(fishing line zipping) We call 'em river monsters here.

The population of blue cats is beyond out of control.

We've had a little over 500 on a boat in one night.

If we were spot on every single night, if we hit every target that we aimed at, you could easily get 800 fish.

[Narrator] Of course, not every trip can be so prolific.

Native to America's mid-western river systems, the blue catfish was first introduced to the Chesapeake watershed in Virginia's James river during the 1970's as a sport fish.

But in Maryland waters these days, the game has changed.

[Capt.

Bates] Here it's an invasive species.

School of them, school of them.

Whole school up front.

(bow zings) There's no rules on size.

There's no rule on the count.

It's pretty much open game on catfish.

You can haul as many as you want outta here.

There's no regulation on 'em.

[Narrator] The boat's big lights don't attract the fish, but they do spotlight what's below.

[Capt.

Bates] Bow fishing gives you a whole different perspective of this.

It's probably the best thing I've ever done on the water.

The shot happens fast, when you see the fish, you take the shot.

[Narrator] For Bates and the team, every successful target boosts business and offers a little blue cat balance.

(splashing) [Capt.

Bates] Big cat.

We're doing our part to help reduce those numbers.

[Narrator] But bow fishers are not alone in their efforts.

An army of recreational anglers, most using more conventional means, has mobilized to address the growing blue cat population.

They compete in fishing competitions around the bay.

Celebrations of the region's natural environment.

Like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Rod and Reef Slam and it's new invasive species division.

[Allison Colden] In the Chesapeake Bay, the blue catfish has no native predators.

They grow to really large size very quickly.

So, there are very few fish or other predators in the Chesapeake Bay that can eat them.

So, we're also encouraging people to fish for those species and report what they catch.

[Narrator] Named for the tint of its skin the typical blue catfish is less than two feet long.

But they've been known to grow two and half times bigger, 5 feet and tip the scales at more than one hundred pounds.

[Colden] 20 different species, so that is a new record for the Rod and Reef Slam, previously it was 16.

[Narrator] Allison Colden is the Maryland Senior Fisheries Scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

[Colden] Alright we're going to kick things off today... Really what we found is that blue catfish are a lot more tolerant of salinity than originally thought.

Since they've been introduced in Virginia, they've actually expanded their range to almost every river system throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

They're eating huge numbers of our native species.

Pretty much if you drop a line these days, uh, looking for rockfish or white perch or any other fish, you may come up with a blue catfish on the end of your line instead.

(sizzling) And so it's no surprise, scientists and natural resource managers believe the best way to tackle the growing population of blue catfish, to eat them.

-The more different approaches to solve that problem, the better.

This is very tasty way to do it.

-Blue catfish... we need to eat more of them.

(chuckles) ♪♪ -Saving the bay and also eating something delicious, seems like a win-win for me.

-I like it was white and flaky and um, it was just delicious.

[Narrator] But small bites won't really make a dent.

The goal is to go big.

To move mouths and markets.

♪♪ [Colden] Restaurants and chefs have really been coming around to blue catfish as a menu item and understanding its importance of harvesting it and using it in a restaurant context because it's a resource that's, uh, around and here to stay.

Among the new converts, Chef Heather Smith proprietor of Swill located in Baltimore's Pigtown neighborhood.

[Heather Smith] Relatively new um, but it's gone over really well.

The other night we did a, a blues night, like a juke joint situation so it fit in really nicely on the- on the menu.

[Smith] You can do a lot with this catfish, blackened, fried, I made a fish stew last week that went really well.

Yeah I'm still teaching myself, working with it a lot of different ways.

[Narrator] Today's offering, blue catfish fillets blackened or fried... ...served in a creamy garlic sauce, with fried grits.

[Smith] I appreciate a protein that kind of drives the rest of the menu.

-It's a lot less muddy tasting than the catfish I'm used to.

-The fish is not fishy, its real fluffy, everything's good, you know.

Like just you're eating some meat, you're not eating fish.

-I think it's a good eatin' fish, I think so.

-Yeah it's delicious, I'm gonna have to order another one.

(woman laughs) [Narrator] Raves reviews Heather takes special pride in.

[Smith] Anytime something you would do anyway, helps the environment, you get extra points for that.

-Delicious.

[Narrator] While diners eagerly down Heather's homestyle cooking.

Across town in Hampden, blue catfish surprises many of the customers at True Chesapeake.

[Zack Mills] People don't think about catfish being fine dining for sure, but we're here to change that.

Deconstructing a seafood mainstay Chef Zack Mills appealed to diners' appetites and answered his business partner's challenge.

[Mills] He said, I'll bet you can't make a fish stick fancy.

And I said, all right challenge accepted.

What we ended up doing is taking blue cat fish, dredging it very lightly in an egg wash and flour and um, very fine breadcrumb mixture.

And then we take the flavors of tartar sauce, the pickles, the lemon, uh, the onion, uh, the caper and all the herbs.

And we kind of just break 'em out and then plate 'em all individually on top of the dish so that it kind of livens it up into a fine dining fish stick if you will.

[Narrator] Well positioned on True Chesapeake's menu with a mission.

Blue catfish pleases palates and provides purpose.

-I didn't know you'd even got catfish in Maryland.

-Sure.

[Mills] If I can do my part to pull as many of 'em outta the water as possible and have people in here excited and coming in and asking for something different, then I've done my job in multiple ways.

-I didn't know catfish came in colors.

[Narrator] Pat Hudson, another partner in this eatery, agrees and wants to see competitors serve blue catfish too.

[Pat Hudson] Every restaurant should be offering it and people should become aware, it's a quality fish.

♪♪ (ice shaking) -This is good eating, the minute I bit into it this...this sold me.

(bell dings) -Oh my god.

-Eat as much of it as you can, let's get it out of, out of the bay.

-Mm.

-Just look at all that... tender, delicious.

I'm so happy.

(laughs) [Narrator] As customers catch on in area restaurants and markets...

Experts agree, opportunities abound all along the supply chain.

Especially for folks like fourth generation waterman, Rocky Rice.

[Rocky Rice] I've been in a boat since I was in diapers.

I started running a boat by myself when I was 11.

Trout lining for hard crabs.

[Narrator] Now thirty years later Rocky works the waters of the Potomac river in Southern Maryland hauling hoop pots with his hired crewmate and friend Cory, nearly every day.

(hum of boat engine) The hard, physical labor remains a constant, even after his business underwent a dramatic transformation during the last ten years.

It's a numbers game... less of Maryland's traditional seafood species and more blue cats.

[Rice] I started doing blue cats to fill in, in between striped bass and hard crabs.

And over the past 10 years, um crabs and striped bass now are to fill in and the blue cats are, are the mainstay.

It's a fish that the states have promoted, they want you to catch.

What I like about it is the consistency.

Basically for me, it's a 10-month fishery.

In fact, 20-22 was the first time in thirty years Rocky didn't run crab pots.

[Rice] I'm not going to say I'm not going to crab again.

I mean I hope to.

It's something you've done your entire life um it's hard to completely walk away from.

[Narrator] But for now, it's blue catfish.

[Rice] This is the ideal size the markets want, between four and ten pounds.

I guess they figure that's what cuts the best.

[Narrator] Sorting by size on the boat helps save time back at homebase.

Where the catch is weighed... [Rice] 105 Medium.

[Narrator] And iced... (shuffling of ice) Before pickup, twice a week.

[Rice] I mean I'm making a living off them.

It's becoming more profitable as the price is increasing and the demand and supply is starting to, you know, kind of balance out.

[Narrator] Seafood processors, like Rocky's distributor, J.J. McDonell, have helped shape that market for wild Maryland blue catfish.

[Chris Rubino] Big order.

Looks good today.

[Narrator] Chris Rubino is the company's Director of Operations.

[Rubino] Our fishermen who are fishing for rockfish or crabs, started catching them as a by-catch.

And uh, they started bringing them in just saying, hey, can you guys sell these?

And we said, of course.

You know, we'll find a home for anything we can possibly lay our hands on.

[Rubino] Um, we've been handling it as a big process for probably a decade, but over the past two or three years, we've had those numbers increase enormously.

[Narrator] That means investing in new equipment, packaging, and trucking routes to move about a million pounds of of blue cat a year.

[Rubino] We've tried to build our business with our fishermen to allow them a steady return for their fish, as well as us being able to provide a more, a steadier price out to our consumers.

We've been able to find some really good partners on the customer side, uh with retailers who are interested in a local fish from local fishermen, uh close to home and that resonates also with, you know, retail consumers.

These are ready to go out in the morning.

[Narrator] Business that benefits suppliers, consumers, and the environment.

[Rubino] We like to call blue catfish beyond sustainable because it's not only removing a fish its removing a fish that is a population that is too high.

Every fish we remove, we like to think that we're actually helping our local species, uh, rockfish, perch, oysters, crabs, because it's giving them a little bit more room to c-compete against these fish.

Uh that being said, there are more than we know what to do with.

♪♪ [Narrator] On Maryland's eastern shore in the Nanticoke river basin Fisheries manager, Brett Coakley and his Department of Natural Resources team investigate just what that underwater turf war looks like.

[Brett Coakley] So everyone wants to know, what's the impact of having all these blue catfish in a system where they weren't normally found, originally found.

[Narrator] In their ongoing hunt for answers, DNR partnered with Salisbury University and graduate student Zach Crum to better understand the diet of blue catfish.

[Narrator] Phase one today employs a special tool, this electro fishing boat which sends a low voltage current through the water.

[Coakley] We always wear rubber boots.

Wear rubber gloves to protect ourselves from, from the electric.

The circuit is completed by the boat being the negative and the positive is the electrodes, anything between the two gets electrified and stunned.

[Narrator] Temporarily paralyzed, catfish float to the surface, (grunting) where Coakley and Crum collect them.

[Coakley] Good net Zach, another one here."

[Narrator] Of course, this research builds on a grim foundation of basic knowledge, given the blue cat's geographic expansion and exponential growth.

[Coakley] These are relatively small compared to the ones we've been getting, right?

[Crum] Oh yeah.

[Coakley] They're good at two things.

One is reproducing and the other is eating.

Uh and that's a bad combination when you're talking about an invasive species.

There's no getting rid of them at this point, unfortunately.

We can't put the genie back in the bottle.

[Narrator] Later in the day, back on campus, Zach is joined by his academic sponsor Professor Noah Bressman, to complete the day's study.

[Crum] 917 [Narrator] They record data about each fish caught [Crum] 3.94.

[Narrator] And cut into the fish's stomachs to find out what they recently ate.

They've found smaller blue catfish tend to dine on vegetation and invertebrates while the bigger ones feed on more fish and can best be described as omnivorous.

[Crum] They'll eat anything they can get their mouths around and um, um so we're just really interested in learning about some of the impacts that they might have on native species here on the eastern shore of Maryland.

[Crum] I think the two oddest things that we found have been an adult wood duck as well as a turtle, a whole turtle (laughs).

[Narrator] Nothing quite so surprising today.

Mostly partially digested fish, a gizzard shad or two.

But their year long study revealed a long list of victims of the blue cat appetite.

Including unfortunately lots of blue crabs, one of the Chesapeake's most vulnerable signature species.

[Crum] I'm hoping that my results can go ahead and sort of inform management of what they're eating and what they're uh, most likely to impact negatively here in the eastern shore.

And so that way they can kind of evaluate some of those different management strategies in terms of controlling their population sizes.

[Narrator] State authorities already have some ideas of their own.

[Coakley] I think harvesting blue catfish is a great solution.

By eating 'em, you're actually helping solve the problem.

[Narrator] But at the Frederick rescue mission as a fish Friday staple blue catfish actually has become part of the solution to another problem, food insecurity.

Carlton Hill is the Director of the Changed Life Recovery Program.

He also cooks the fish here.

With an intimate understanding of who he serves.

-Can I have fish, please?

-Sure, how is your day going?

[Carlton Hill] I was one of those people, you know was homeless and stood in line for food.

So, I know what they're going through.

I know the despair.

[Server] Would you like rice or green beans?

[Hill] So I'm really appreciative to be able to serve, you know people who are...who are in need like I was.

-Have a nice day.

-Catfish please.

-Sure, how's your day going?

[Hill] Now today it was the catfish, fried catfish, you know, which everybody love, you know?

And me too now (laugh), you know.

[Narrator] The Maryland Food Bank made today's meal possible.

[Rick Condon] Glad that you enjoyed it.

[Narrator] Operations Vice President Rick Condon sat with the diners.

[Condon] The people that, that we're serving are our neighbors.

During the year 2022 the organization bought and distributed more than 62,000 pounds of blue catfish throughout the state.

That's 125,000 individual servings.

A local resource addressing local need.

[Condon] It's a great source of low-fat protein.

Um, it's a great food.

Uh, talking to many of the people here today that ate it.

They were really appreciative of the food and really liked the blue catfish.

♪♪ [Narrator] From basic needs... ...to creative culinary deeds blue catfish does it all.

Chef Billy Kelley manages the restaurant at Renditions Golf Course in Anne Arundel County.

After a round of eighteen, hungry golfers devour Billy's distinctive dishes, like oven baked blue catfish with jumbo lump crab aioli.

-It's just really good eatin'.

It's yummy.

-These blue cats?

That's great.

That's good stuff.

-Yeah, it's very good.

(bell dings) -Order up.

More catfish to go.

[Narrator] On his rare days off, Billy often goes fishing with his best bud, his dog Stink.

Today's target, the plentiful and invasive, blue catfish.

[Billy Kelley] They're all over the place nowadays, they are hiding up in the rivers and creeks too as well but we'll give it a shot out here today.

[Narrator] Running a kitchen is hard work so the rest and relaxation is nice, but Billy wants action.

To break the calm and reel in a blue cat like he's done countless times before.

[Kelley] Their fun as hell to catch.

There's a lot of meat on 'em too.

Delicious white meat.

Um, you look at its diet, it's eating crab and everything else that's in the bay.

Um, and not like your basic, uh, river catfish.

It's got a real good diet, so.

[Narrator] But given his lack of luck today, Billy sounds like a marooned sailor dreaming of his next meal.

[Kelley] It's a nice healthy fish and delicious with every, any way you wanna prepare it.

You can grill it, bake it, fry it.

[Narrator] Good thing Billy makes his living cooking fish not catching them.

[Kelley] It's invasive and evasive at the same time.

Yeah, I don't where they are today.

(chopping) [Narrator] Fortunately, Billy had some fish back at the house where he and daughter Cady test new recipes for the restaurant.

[Kelley] Here you go sweetie.

I hope you enjoy it.

[Narrator] And an upcoming cooking competition featuring Maryland blue catfish.

[Kelley] It's got a lot of different flavors.

[Cady Kelley] It's delicious, I love it.

[Kelley] Yeah.

I think it's pretty tasty.

(rumbling of generator) [Narrator] In a parking lot turned industrial kitchen.

Billy sets up shop among nine friendly rivals.

Including Chef Heather Smith from Swill in Baltimore.

All plan to offer something a little different, their own take on this Maryland menace.

[Mike Fuggitti] Potato chip crusted blue catfish cake.

[Ramatou Fofana] Brown sugar pistachio blue cat with a potato pavey.

[Steven Harris] I'm making um fish and grits with um, beet greens cooked in African spices.

[Tony Allie] What make it a winner is gonna be that pineapple jerk sauce I'm making from scratch.

[Narrator] Sponsoring the event, the Restaurant Association of Maryland hopes to help blue catfish solidify its place on menus across the state.

[Marshall Weston] It is a versatile piece of fish that can be used in lots of different ways.

(horn honking) The rules are simple: one hour to cook one dish, five plates to be judged.

-10 minutes in.

[Weston] How can somebody do something unique with a blue catfish that maybe the judges haven't seen anywhere else?

[Narrator] Today's winner will qualify for the world food championships in Texas later in the year.

But many compete for their pride as much as the prize.

[Weston] The judges are looking for a lot of different things.

Clearly taste is part of it, but it's also the menu presentation.

It's also the, how are they using different ingredients to bring out the other ingredients in the menu.

(blowhorn honking) [Fofana] Either way I'm happy.

[Kelley] You know it's slim to none but it's ok.

It's fun.

If it happens it happens.

[Allie] I think I probably got it, if not I'll try again.

[Smith] Absolutely in great company um, but you know I gotta think I won if anybody else is gonna think I won.

[Brad Feikert] I was happy with the way the dish turned out you know, we'll see.

You never know with the judges, you know.

(thumping) [Judge] I have to stop myself from eating all of it, I'm like we have more to go.

[Judge 2] They are so good.

[Judge] I know (laughter).

The judges were just kind of overwhelmed at the quality that, uh, you know, came into the judging room.

[Weston] The blackened catfish, the fried catfish, even just the, the gently pan seared, we saw it all today.

And ultimately, it's great to see that kind of diversity in the, uh, restaurant world.

You guys really impressed everybody just know that the scoring was very tight and uh, very close, but we double and tripled check so we're very confident in our announcements here so, congratulations to Steven Harris from SMH Foods.

Congratulations, first place.

[Harris] Thank you.

(clapping) [Weston] A simple dish executed to perfection is really what won the day.

[Narrator] Heather Smith came in second.

[Weston] ...From Swill Baltimore.

(claps) Congratulations.

[Narrator] But to be clear no one lost.

In fact, more meals like these will have people throughout Maryland and the waters of the Chesapeake watershed itself singing: Winner winner, blue catfish dinner.

Eatin' Blue Catfish Chesapeake Style is made possible by...

The Maryland Department of Agriculture's Maryland's Best Seafood program, and by the MPT New Initiative's Fund established by Irene & Edward H. Kaplan.

-What are you doing for lunch today?

-Uh, we would love to try the catfish.

-Catfish, its killing, its eating everything in the Chesapeake Bay.

But you know what they say that's why they taste so good, it's because of all of the stuff that they eat.

It's like the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay.

-Okay.

-In a little filet.

(laughs) -Okay.

Okay a couple um catfish sandwiches and fish n' chips coming up.

-Thank you.

-That's so good.