| Specimen ID | 164483 |
| Group | Fishes |
| Genus | Ictalurus |
| Species | furcatus |
| Common Name | Blue Catfish |
| State | NC |
| Locality | Cape Fear (HUC6) non-specific |
| Mapping Accuracy | Centroid |
| Centroid Type | HUC6 |
| HUC8 Name | Cape Fear |
| HUC8 Number | 03030000 |
| Map | |
| Collection Year | 1975 |
| Year Accuracy | Estimated |
| Potential Pathway | stocked for sport | stocked for food |
| Status | established |
| Comments | uncommon in 1970s; most abundant in gillnet survey by 2004 The blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) was introduced to the Cape Fear River by the Wildlife Resources Commission in the attempt to create a trophy fishery (Moser and Roberts 1998). Although blue catfish were uncommon in the 1970's, they are currently the most abundant species captured in our gillnet survey (Mallin et. al. 1998,1999,2000). The success of the blue catfish in the Cape Fear River system is likely due to it's generalist feeding behavior. Gut content analyses have shown this species to feed on a wide range of prey including snakes, birds, fish, shrimp, worms, eels, grapes, other fish and surprisingly clams. Over 75% of the stomachs examined contained an Asian fresh water clam (Corbicula fluminia) that was introduced by a bilge discharge in the Wilmington harbor in 1975 (Williams and Moser, in prep). Although thought to have aided in the demise of our native catfish population through competition, blue catfish are a popular sport fish and support a small commercial fishery in the Cape Fear River. |
| Record Type | Personal communication |
| Freshwater/Marine | Freshwater |
