US invests $2M to expand invasive species processing market

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $2 million (€1.7 million) to create new markets for processing invasive catfish wild-caught in Chesapeake Bay.

Half of the funds will go to BSA Seafood to purchase and install equipment at its Denton, Maryland, facility to process invasive blue catfish into value-added foodservice products.

The other half will fund upgrades that will allow Virginia-based Chippin to bring catfish to scale in the pet food market in its Valmeyer, Illinois, plant.

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) lauded the investment in a statement, calling it “a terrific example of how holistic strategies can benefit business and support sustainability.”

“The seafood industry has long understood that sustainability stands on three legs: economic, environmental and social,” said NFI President and CEO Lisa Wallenda Picard. “This strategy fits those tenets by supporting the market, addressing the on-the-water challenge and creating jobs.”

The funding is coming through the USDA’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. The program is designed to encourage competition and sustainable growth in U.S. meat processing, as well as improve supply chain resiliency, according to the USDA.

“This investment in the processing of invasive wild-caught catfish not only solves a problem but also adds to the list of ways (Agriculture) Secretary (Brooke) Rollins and the USDA are supporting President (Donald) Trump’s America First agenda by investing in economic opportunity and prosperity in rural communities,” USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Programs Administrator J.R. Claeys said in a statement.