Efforts to restore a long-lost native fish species to the Three Rivers continued today, as the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) stocked thousands of Blue Catfish.  These juvenile Blue Catfish are about 14 months old and measure only 10-to-12 inches now but can eventually grow to weigh more than 100 pounds.  Blue Catfish, which are the largest species of catfish in North America, are native to the Ohio River basin, including the Monongahela and lower Allegheny Rivers, but they mostly disappeared in the early 1900s due to poor water quality and habitat loss.  As water quality has improved, the PFBC began stocking Blue Catfish five years ago (2022) with hopes of restoring the once popular fishery to its native range.  While Blue Catfish are native to the Ohio River basin in western Pennsylvania, they are considered invasive in other parts of the state, and it is illegal to move the fish outside of their native range.  The PFBC’s Blue Catfish restoration plan is set to last 15 years, with the fish being distributed to new parts of the Three Rivers every five years.  In 2026, more than 10,000 Blue Catfish will be raised at the PFBC’s Tionesta State Fish Hatchery in Forest County and stocked into the Three Rivers.  Today’s stockings happened at Point State Park in Pittsburgh and at the PFBC’s access in Kilbuck Township, Allegheny County.

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