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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Aquatic Invasives
  3. Fish and Other Aquatic Vertebrates
  4. Flathead Catfish

Flathead Catfish

Scientific Name

Pylodictis olivaris (Rafinesque, 1819) (ITIS)

Common Name

Flathead catfish, yellow catfish, mud catfish, shovelhead catfish, johnnie cat, goujon, Opelousas catfish, flatbelly catfish, Mississippi catfish

Native To

Mississippi and Gulf drainages (Brown et al. 2005)

Date of U.S. Introduction

Stocked to non-native waters beginning in 1950s (Brown et al. 2005)

Means of Introduction

Intentionally stocked by anglers (NAS Database)

Impact

Preys on native fish populations (Brown et al. 2005)

Current U.S. Distribution

Western U.S.; Atlantic Coast

Flathead catfish

Flathead catfish

Credit

Photo by Eric Engbretson; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Source
Invasive.org.

Find more images

Spotlights

  • Thousands of Invasive Fish Removed from Maryland Waters at Conowingo Dam

    • Jul 22, 2024

    • Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

    • Thousands of invasive fish have been removed from the Chesapeake Bay watershed at the Conowingo Dam earlier this year and donated to local food banks through a continuing partnership between Maryland Department of Natural Resources and others. During the 2024 season, which ran from March to June, more than 18,000 pounds of invasive fish (blue catfish, flathead catfish, and northern snakehead) were removed from Maryland waters.

  • Maryland Governor Moore Requests Federal Fishery Disaster Declaration for Invasive Blue Catfish

    • Mar 16, 2023

    • The Office of Governor Wes Moore (Maryland).

    • Governor Wes Moore is calling on the federal government to declare the expanding population of invasive fish species—including blue catfish, flathead catfish, and snakehead—to be an ongoing commercial fishery disaster in the Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The governor sent a letter [Mar 2023; PDF, 2.4 MB] to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo requesting the declaration under provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act. The declaration would qualify Maryland for federal fishery disaster assistance.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

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Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Partnership
Federal Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Professional
Citations