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Subcommittee backs pilot program to use invasive blue catfish for pet food under bipartisan MAWS Act
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Summary
Representatives Elfreth and Whitman introduced the MAWS Act (H.R. 4,294), a bipartisan bill to fund a NOAA pilot program that would create markets for invasive blue catfish to reduce their ecological impacts in the Chesapeake Bay.
Representative Elfreth and co-sponsors introduced H.R. 4,294, the Mitigation Action and Waterman Support (MAWS) Act, to address the ecological and economic harm from invasive blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay.
Elfreth told the subcommittee that blue catfish are now abundant in many tributaries of the Bay, prey on blue crabs, oysters and juvenile rockfish, and lack natural predators. She said federal processing and inspection rules make it difficult for watermen to sell blue catfish for human consumption and that a new market strategy could reduce catfish biomass while providing economic opportunity to watermen.
The MAWS Act would establish a two-year pilot program within NOAA's Chesapeake Bay Office to award grants to pet and animal food manufacturers, incentivize watermen to harvest blue catfish, and support transportation, processing and manufacturing infrastructure. NOAA would collect ecological and economic data during the pilot and report back to Congress on best practices and recommendations for other watersheds if successful.
Representative Whitman, co-lead on the bill, described the species' massive biomass in parts of the Bay and urged Congress to create markets to reduce predation pressure on native species. The Fish and Wildlife Service, through Jay Shirley’s testimony, did not oppose the bill; the agency said it would work with the sponsor to address implementation details.
The committee accepted written testimony and materials into the record. No formal votes occurred during the hearing.
