The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on Monday approved new fishing regulations for the Ohio River Basin that will protect two catfish species through stricter harvest limits and catch-and-release requirements.
The regulations, set to take effect Jan. 1, 2027, establish a catch-and-release requirement for blue catfish and impose a four-fish daily and possession limit for flathead catfish, with only one of them allowed to be 35 inches or longer.
“The proposed regulation would be catch and release only, no harvest on blue catfish. Really the goal would be to maximize the survival of these reintroduced species,” said David Nihart, chief of the commission’s Division of Fisheries Management, during a quarterly meeting of the commission.
The new protections come as Pennsylvania works to restore blue catfish populations that disappeared from the state’s waters in the early 1900s. The commission launched a 15-year reintroduction plan in 2022, stocking approximately 15,000 yearling blue catfish annually in the Ohio River.
Flathead catfish, while never extirpated, face unique biological vulnerabilities that justify protective measures. Commission surveys revealed these fish are exceptionally long-lived and slow-growing.
“It takes about 15 years on average for a flathead to reach 2 feet. It takes about 30 years for that same fish to be about 35 inches,” Nihart explained. “The oldest one that we found was 52 years old.”
The biological assessments conducted by commission staff showed that over 10% of collected flathead catfish were 30 years or older. Despite their longevity, the fish exhibit extremely low natural mortality rates of 5% or less, making them susceptible to overfishing even with slight increases in harvest pressure.
The new regulations replace the current panfish designation that allowed anglers to harvest up to 50 catfish per day with no size restrictions. Commission staff determined these liberal limits posed risks to both the developing blue catfish population and the trophy flathead catfish fishery.
The new flathead regulations mirror rules in neighboring West Virginia and Ohio, creating consistency across the Ohio River watershed and supporting coordinated management of these catfish populations across state boundaries, Nihart said.
In addition to a daily limit, the four-flathead possession limit prevents anglers from exceeding harvest limits during overnight fishing trips when a new day begins at midnight.
The Ohio River Basin’s catfish populations support a growing trophy fishery that attracts anglers seeking large fish. Commission staff noted that most current anglers practice catch-and-release fishing, but officials wanted regulations in place to preserve the fishery’s quality should harvest trends change in the future.
The blue catfish reintroduction plan models efforts by West Virginia, which successfully restored the species to its waters. Pennsylvania’s stocking program initially began in the Ohio River and will expand to the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in coming years.
Both species are native to the Ohio River Basin but are considered highly invasive outside their native range. The commission emphasized that blue catfish and flathead catfish should not be introduced to other Pennsylvania watersheds, including Lake Erie and the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers, where they could harm native species.
The regulations apply throughout the entire Ohio River Basin but exclude lakes within the basin. The commission received public comments on the proposed regulations, with seven of nine commenters supporting the proposal and one supporting portions of it.
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