Sustainable catfish & pangasius buying guide

U.S. farmed catfish rated green by Seafood Watch is the most environmentally sustainable because producers have minimal impact on wildlife and the environment. A small amount of blue catfish caught in the U.S. by the low-frequency electric fishery is also rated green. This source is environmentally sustainable because it specifically aims to reduce blue catfish’s range and population size without impacting other species. All U.S. farmed catfish is rated green.

Wild-caught blue catfish rated yellow means information about bycatch impacts is limited, and the catch of forage fish is a risk. When farmed catfish is rated yellow, there’s significant uncertainty about impacts on wildlife and the environment, or one issue needs substantial improvement. 

Catfish rated red by Seafood Watch is not environmentally sustainable. Pangasius from Vietnam (except the certified sources we recommend) is rated red for the following reasons: 

• Data on chemical use in Vietnam isn't available, but there’s evidence that it’s very high and includes antibiotics that are critically important to human health. Learn more about antibiotic use in aquaculture.
• Farm waste pollutes the waterways when it’s intentionally or accidentally released. Learn more about effluent impacts.

Learn how we can make seafood sustainable

Fishing methods

Blue catfish are caught with many fishing methods in Chesapeake Bay. All fishing methods, except low-frequency electric fishing, can accidentally catch or interact with other vulnerable or overexploited species.

Here’s a quick look at the fishing methods used to catch blue catfish:

• Boat seines encircle and herd catfish using a long wall of netting with a smaller mesh bag that retains the catch.
• Drift gillnets are long nets that drift with the current. Catfish are entangled when they swim into the netting.
• Low-frequency electric fishing temporarily stuns catfish in the water, allowing them to be easily harvested with hand nets without impacting other species.
• Pots are cage-like gears with one or more openings that catfish can easily enter but are difficult to exit.
• Set gillnets entangle catfish when they swim into stationary netting positioned on or near the seafloor.
• Set longlines are stationary fishing lines with baited hooks located on or near the seafloor.
• Stationary uncovered pound nets are large nets that are fixed in place with stakes or other equipment. The gear is oriented to take advantage of catfish’s movement patterns and configured to guide them to an enclosed chamber. 

Farming methods

• Most catfish is farmed in ponds, which are natural or built bodies of fresh or saltwater. There are many types, from simple low-tech ponds to hyper-intensive industrial ponds. U.S. catfish farms are typically located on former agricultural lands in shallow ponds, and they can have beneficial effects by serving as artificial wetlands. The hyper-intensive ponds in Vietnam generate large volumes of farm waste.
• Some catfish is farmed in freshwater net pens, which are structures that hold fish in open water as they grow. Open systems like net pens have inherent environmental risks, such as escapes and pollution impacts.
• Catfish is also farmed in indoor recirculating tanks, but this method represents only a small portion of what’s available on the U.S. market compared to other farming systems. These systems continuously recirculate more than 90 percent of the water flow, and they’re rated green or yellow, depending on producers’ wastewater treatment practices. This farming method is also referred to as RAS (short for recirculating aquaculture systems), land-based, or tank-farmed, with variations of these terms sometimes used.

Learn more about fishing and farming methods