Icing Practices And Catfish Quality

Catfish is the largest freshwater fishery in the U.S.; blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) is the main species harvested, followed by channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). In 2017, wild-caught catfish harvest was 13 million pounds. Louisiana harvests the most wild catfish (41%), followed by Maryland and Virginia. Catfish is among the top 10 seafood products consumed by Americans. In the early 2000’s, annual consumption was over one pound per capita (ppc), which dropped to 0.50 ppc by 2012. In recent years, consumption has increased to 0.51 ppc in 2016, 0.53 ppc in 2017, and 0.56 ppc in 2018. Catfish is a diverse group in the order of Siluriformes. Historically, the U.S. Department of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was in charge of the safety of all seafood characterized products; however, in 2008, Congress moved the siluriform fish inspection to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS).