Catfish Aren't Dumb…

It may surprise some tunnel-visioned bass and bream fishermen to learn that catfish are at least as smart as game fish.
Maybe even smarter!  In a series of scientific tests, catfish were able to make it through a maze nine out of ten times.  Bass were able to do it only four out of ten times.
Take that!  All you sophisticated bass guys!

Catfish Health Advisories…
Overall--Catfish the safest to eat

Freshwater fish have been analyzed for mercury content from  some 223 sites across the state.  Sites were sampled on most every river system in Florida, canals in south Florida, and the Everglades Conservation Areas.  Sites included large lakes like Okeechobee,  Kissimmee, Istokpoga, George, Apopka, as well as many smaller lakes.
Blue, brown bullhead, channel, and flathead catfish were cleared for unlimited consumption at all sites.  There was a recommendation of limited consumption of yellow bullhead only in the Shark River drainages in Dade and Monroe counties, and in Water Conservation Areas 2A and 3 in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties.

In the summer of 1998 catfish researchers and enthusiasts from Canada, Europe, and South America as well as a full cross-section of the United States met to talk about catfish.  The first ever catfish symposium was held in Davenport, Iowa in the heart of flathead country.  It was sponsored by  In-Fisherman Magazine, the American Fishery Society, and the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee.  Some of the funding was provided by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The desire was to bring together specialists from resource agencies across the nation, international catfish experts, and the interested fishing public to discuss and share their knowledge of catfish and to help promote the catfish as an important sport and commercial species.
More than 2000 participants listened to 68 biologists present talks on Biology and Management of Catfish; Catfish Ecology including sessions on habitat use, age and growth, feeding, spawning, movement, migration, and even genetics; and Management of Catfish including sampling methods and tools, population assessments, what is happening in the recreational and commercial fisheries, effects of harvest regulations, stocking strategies, human effects, exploitation and conservation of the trophy catfish, and effects of introduced catfish species.  There was also a presentation on recreational use and conservation of catfish from the fisherman's point of view by Doug Stange of In-Fisherman, and presentations on the giant catfish species of the Amazon River and the giant European Wel catfish.
Following the symposium, a Catfish 2000 Workshop was held.  The desire of the workshop was to discuss programs, projects and approaches which will further the knowledge, management, and utilization of catfish.  The discussion generated a number of good points that everybody will be able to benefit from.  The following is a synopsis of some of the points made.  Some are positive and some are negative:

SOME THOUGHTS FROM THE SYMPOSIUM:

• Kids and young people need to be taught to get involved in catfishing.
  
• Maintaining the quality of habitat is important.  The better the habitat, the more fish it will support.
  
• Stocking is important to maintaining urban fishing environments.
  
• The databases developed from catfish studies are very important to successful management efforts.
  
• All involved in fisheries and fisheries management must be a part of the implementation of the Clean Water Act.  The Clean Water Act is designed to make all waters "swimmable and fishable."
  
• Culture techniques need to be improved on as well as public access to bodies of water.
  
• Introduced catfish such as the blue and flathead catfish have severely impacted and even decimated native fish populations, a trend that biologists have found not always reversible.
  
• Regulations have been found to be a questionable management tool in some waters.
  
• A major problem is how to limit population growth and its impact on catfish populations.
  
• Should develop standardized fish contamination standards between states.
• Help to develop clean water standards.
  
• Standardize fish consumption health advisories between states.
  
• Improve the public's perception about river and lake water quality.
  
• Work to reconnect rivers to their floodplains.
  
• Address allocation uses related to sport and commercial fisheries.
  
• Develop clear policy directives for state agencies.
  
• Increase public involvement in catfishing.
  
• Develop partnerships between state agencies and the public.
  
• Enhance education to recruit and educate more anglers.