Invasive fish taking over? Maryland chefs have a delicious game plan: eat them. They’re putting problem species like blue catfish and snakehead on the menu to help save Chesapeake Bay.
It’s a smart way to tackle a tricky situation. The Baltimore Sun explained they’re crowding out local species. Blue catfish, usually found in the South, taste pretty mild. Snakehead, originally from Asia, is a bit heartier. The problem is, they both breed fast and mess up the bay’s natural ecosystem.
So, local restaurants have stepped up. Why let them go to waste? Chef Matthew Lego at Leo Annapolis told the Sun that he started experimenting with snakehead, looking for something like the popular rockfish.
Turns out, cooking these invaders fits right in with helping the community. “First and foremost, we’re trying to serve delicious food to our guests, but pretty close behind that, we’re also trying to be good neighbors in our community,” Lego said.
Lego explained that there was a little trepidation around snakeheads, thanks to their unfortunate name.
“Even just the name snakehead evokes images of a potentially scary and ugly thing,” he said. “I think a lot of the folks that have been in Maryland for a long time still can recall when the news stories started coming out about this ugly fish slithering out of the pond in Crofton. But people gave it a shot, and people have really seemed to adopt it.”
Chef Zack Mills at True Chesapeake Oyster Co. is doing the same, serving both since 2019. He thinks it’s something everyone should consider.
“It is one thing that all restaurants should be trying [to serve], to get as many of them out of the water as humanly possible,” he explained to the Sun. Good for the bay, good for business. Pretty simple, right? “If we’re, on a weekly basis, pulling hundreds of pounds out of the water — and, at the same time, they’re delicious — it works out really well.”
This whole “eat the enemy” thing is catching fire. The situation got serious enough that Maryland’s governor even asked for a disaster declaration for fishing. But people are getting resourceful. A new bill might give grants to pet food companies if they use invasive catfish. And it’s not just Maryland — in Malaysia, “fish hunters” are clearing rivers of invasive catfish.
Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources says if you catch these fish, don’t just toss ’em back. It’s actually illegal to move them around live anyway. Best bet? Cook ’em up, use ’em for bait, or toss ’em in the compost pile.
Folks online seem ready to give it a try.
“I haven’t has snakehead yet; but I want to,” one Redditor shared. “A friend who likes flounder and other mild fish said snakehead is delicious.”
Another noted: “They basically absorb whatever flavor you put in them and don’t fall apart. Plus, they are super nutritious.”
Someone else said: “It tastes like catfish and flounder combined.”
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Dining and Cooking