Channel Catfish

Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Fish caught in the Cooper River, South Carolina, March 2011. Length: 26 cm (10 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.

Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Fish caught from the Pearl River, Pearl River, Louisiana, June 2021. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Fish caught in the Cooper River, South Carolina, March 2011. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Fish caught via hook and line by Mauricio Correa from an irrigation pond in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, February 2008. Length: 54 cm (21 inches). Catch courtesy of Mauricio Correa, Los Cabos, Baja California Sur. Fish identification by H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.

The Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is a member of the North American Catfish or Ictaluridae Family, that is also known as the Channel Cat and in Mexico as bagre de canal. There are ten species in the genus Ictalurus, all of which are found in the freshwater systems of Mexico.

The Channel Catfish has an elongated body that are compressed posteriorly. They are bluish olive, gray or black dorsally and transition to white ventrally. They have dark round spots randomly scattered along their sides. Juveniles are lighter in color than adults. They are dimorphic with males being swollen above the eyes and having black lips during the breeding season while the body and lips of females turn lighter in color. Their head is wide when viewed from above. They have small eyes and an inferior mouth with 8 sensory barbels, 4 on the chin, 2 on the snout, and 1 on each corner of the mouth. Their anal fin has 24 to 27 rays and a rounded margin; their caudal fin is deeply forked; their dorsal fin has 1 stout venomous spine and 6 or 7 rays followed by a small adipose fin; their pectoral fins have 1 stout venomous spine; and their pelvic fins are found on the abdomen. They have smooth skin and no scales.

The Channel Catfish is normally found in small streams and ponds with clean and well oxygenated water but are also known to enter larger bodies of water with temperatures between 10oC (50oF) and 32oC (90oF). They reach a maximum of 1.32 m (4 feet 4 inches) in length and 26.3 kg (58 lbs) in weight. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 80 cm (2 feet 7 inches) in length with the fish caught in a lake in California in March 2016 and 26.3 kg (58 lbs) in weight with the fish caught in a lake in South Carolina in July 1964. They are active nighttime predators and probe the bottom as scavengers seeking food by smell, sight, and touch. They feed on small fish, clams, crustaceans, snails, aquatic insects, and small marine mammals. Juveniles consume plankton and aquatic insect larvae. In turn they are preyed upon by various larger fish as well as birds. They are known to “hibernate” by burying themselves in the substrate during low oxygen and low temperature episodes. Reproduction is oviparous with each female depositing between 2,000 and 70,000 eggs in a small hole or depression on the lake floor; these eggs are then fertilized and guarded by males. Males exclude females to avoid cannibalization of their eggs. The eggs hatch within a week and the young form schools that are guarded by males for a short period. They grow rapidly in the first year. Introduced Channel Catfish are known to hybridize with several native catfish and bullheads in Mexico, including with the Yaqui Catfish, Ictalurus pricei. They are scientifically interesting and have been studied extensively due to their keen sense of hearing, sight, and smell. They also have the ability to generate a wide variety of different drumming sounds, which are used as important communication methods and also as defense mechanisms. They release a specific individual pheromone that can be recognized by other Channel Catfish. They have been used as test subjects for determining chemical transfers, immune responses, and antibody formation in basic scientific research. They have lifespans of up to twenty-four years.

The Channel Catfish is common in the freshwater systems of Mexico with large populations found along the northern and northeast parts of the mainland of the Atlantic drainage. The fish photographed above documents the presence of this species within Baja California Sur and one can only surmise that it got there via introduction.

 From a conservation perspective the Channel Catfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern having stable or increasing widely distributed populations throughout their range. The Channel Catfish is a major commercial species caught either in baited slat traps or hoop traps or raised as farmed fish. They are considered an exceptional food fish and widely sold commercially. They are also a major target of recreational anglers as larger fish can be fierce foes by rod and reel. They are caught by a wide variety of methods on almost any bait as well as by a unique method known as “noodling” where fish are caught by hand. They have, however, developed a reputation for being a nuisance fish due to their effective bait stealing abilities. These fish have been introduced globally as both sports fish and food fish, however, they quickly become highly invasive and a nuisance fish. Introduced fish are known to consume, compete with, and contribute to the demise of the Colorado Pikeminnow, Ptychocheilus lucius, an endangered species, the Humpback Chub, Gila cypha, the Razorback Sucker, Xyrauchen texanus, the Trout-Perch, Percopsis omiscomaycus, and the Chiricahua Leopard Frog, Rana chiricahuensis. They are also raised in abundance via aquaculture. The albino form is sold by the aquarium trade.