White Catfish Index of Abundance

Adult White Catfish White Catfish are found in all Chesapeake Bay tributaries, and the Juvenile Finfish Trawl Survey has collected them in waters with salinity values reaching 23.5 parts per thousand.

White Catfish Barbels Members of the fish family Ictaluridae, such as White Catfish, have four pairs of barbels around their mouth. These barbels contain external taste buds, enabling catfish to taste something by merely touching it with their barbel.

White Catfish vs Blue Catfish These young White Catfish (left) and Blue Catfish (right) were caught in the York River in July. They look very similar at this size, but can be distinguished by their head width, body coloration, and tail fork.

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About the data

This species first recruits to the survey gear in June. Because White Catfish are restricted in their distribution, an index of abundance is calculated for each river. Only stations in the upper portions of the rivers are used to calculate the indices. The age 1+ index for this species contains several year classes. It may be possible to split individual age groups in the future for analysis. In 2018, the recruitment window for young-of-year and age 1+ White Catfish was changed from January to April to September to November. All annual indices for White Catfish were recalculated to reflect the new recruitment period.

The young-of-year cutoff values are as follows (index months are listed in bold):

• June: 0-50 mm.
• July: 0-65 mm.
• August: 0-80 mm.
• September: 0-90 mm.
• October: 0-100 mm.
• November: 0-110 mm.
• December: 0-110 mm.
• January: 0-110 mm.
• February: 0-110 mm.
• March: 0-110 mm.
• April: 0-110 mm.
• May: 0-120 mm.

Data collected after the transition to a new vessel and net in June 2015 have been adjusted by a species-specific calibration factor. However, young-of-year White Catfish indices were not adjusted as too few were captured.

White Catfish Excel file (Microsoft Excel download)