Maryland recently has taken a few tentative steps aimed at boosting commercial harvest of blue catfish(Ictalurus furcatus), the voracious nonnative predator devouring blue crabs and many native fish in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Efforts to do likewise in Virginia, though, have been at least partially thwarted by resistance from recreational anglers and fishing guides who want to maintain them as lucrative trophy fish.
In Maryland, the Department of Natural Resources announced a pair of pilot programs in February that officials hope will give extra momentum to the upward trend in blue catfish harvests in that state, which topped 1 million pounds last year for the first time…