Potential Impacts of Non-Native Blue Catfish on Commercially and RecreationallyI Important Fishes of the Chesapeake Bay

Within the Chesapeake Bay, the effects of water quality, habitat depletion, and over-fishing are considered to have had considerable impact on the biomass of living resources within the system. Current efforts by federal and state resource management agencies to restore and manage the living resources require methodologies for assessing the influence of non-native species on the biomass of any other species, most particularly as regards upper trophic level species of commercial and recreational importance. In partnership with regional bay researchers, managers, and the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program, NOAA has developed the Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Ecosystem Model (CBFEM) using the Ecopath with Ecosim program. In this session, we demonstrate the use of CBFEM to explore the interaction between the non-native blue catfish and other commercially and recreationally relevant fish (Atlantic menhaden, striped bass, weakfish, bluefish, and alosines), as well as important shellfish species (blue crabs, Eastern oysters).  The simulations will demonstrate ecosystem sensitivities to variations in blue catfish fishing pressure and biomass.