Channel Catfish

Channel Catfish is a freshwater fish (Ictalurus punctatus) native to rivers and lakes of central and eastern North America, and the species at the center of the United States catfish farming industry. Commercial catfish farming developed from the mid twentieth century onward, concentrated especially in earthen ponds across the Mississippi Delta region of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana, where warm water and available land supported large-scale pond aquaculture. The fish is raised on formulated feed to market size over roughly one to two growing seasons and processed mainly for the fresh and frozen fillet market within the United States. Channel catfish farming grew into a major regional agricultural industry by the late twentieth century, though it has since faced increased competition from imported farmed catfish and basa from Southeast Asia.