You can eat even more of those fish you’ve caught in the Delaware River and Delaware Bay, state officials said Tuesday. High-risk individuals, which include women of child-bearing age and children, continue to be advised to eat no fish from this area. …

Flathead Catfish are an introduced species to Delaware (meaning they are non-native). Flathead Catfish have been shown to severely reduce Redbreast Sunfish populations and crustaceans in other states. … They help the catfish find food in dark or muddy water.

Delaware Saltwater Fish

• Basses (Sea) Black Sea Bass. More information. …
• Basses (Temperate) Striped Bass. More information. …
• Billfishes. Blue Marlin. More information. …
• Cods. Atlantic Cod. More information. …
• Drums. Atlantic Croaker. More information. …
• Flounders. Four-Spot Flounder. More information. …
• Grunts. Pigfish. …
• Hakes. Red Hake (Ling)

The first official reports of flatheads being caught in the Delaware came in 2008 and 2009 from the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife. The fish likely entered the river from the Schuylkill River, where they had been discovered several years earlier.

Swimming in areas of the river outside the life guarded beaches is permitted, but not recommended. Strong currents, sharp drop-offs, and constantly changing river conditions make many areas unsafe for swimming. Wearing a properly fitting life jacket is strongly recommended when swimming. Never swim alone.

You may eat fish from the waters of the Delaware River Watershed as a matter of choice, or you may feed your catch to your family out of need.

Saltwater Fishing Records

Blue Catfish have been reported in the Delaware River, the Nanticoke River, and in the Christina River. Blue Catfish are primarily large-river fish, occurring at channel drop-offs and creek mouths. Blue Catfish are opportunistic predators and will eat various fish species.

Why are blue and flathead catfish a problem in the Che Blue and flathead catfish are considered invasiv economic and/or environmental harm) in species have few natural predators in the Bay fish and shellfish.

Some of the migratory fishes are only available for a few weeks to a month or two at a time (Atlantic mackerel, black drum, tunas, swordfish, white marlin, dolphin, mako shark and wahoo), but there is also a large population of ‘resident’ weak fish (sea trout), bluefish, flounder, tautog, croakers, sea bass, and …

These species include: Atlantic Croaker, Atlantic Menhaden, Atlantic Silverside, Bay Anchovy, Bluefish, Mummichog, Silver Perch, Striped Bass, Striped Killifish, Summer Flounder, Weakfish, White Mullet, and Winter Flounder.

The four anadromous species in the park are striped bass, American shad, blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), and sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus).

American shad are a good source of bait, they can be caught in the shallow water runs of the Delaware River or purchased from the fish markets.

12 to 18 inches Channel Catfish are commonly caught in the range of 12 to 18 inches in length by Delaware anglers.

Both flathead and particularly blue catfish are considered good recreational fish. They offer some challenge when catching and good eating. That’s why these invasive catfish were introduced to the James and Rappohanok rivers in the 1960s.

And, the bull sharks known to swim in the Delaware River, as they do far upriver from oceans worldwide, have never been reported in an attack on any humans, although in late April and early May 1922 newspapers throughout the U.S. reported on a 12-foot shark said to have been on the man-eating variety that was shot …

Still, the Delaware is a lot cleaner than it was in the mid-20th century, when decades of industrial pollution and sewage discharge left it so starved of oxygen that fish were unable to migrate farther upstream than central Philadelphia.

Crocodiles and alligators, of course, are not native to the Delaware River, preferring much warmer climates. Some locals are theorizing that a local pet is on the loose.

Pollutants still run off into the watershed from parking lots, streets, backyards and farms. Toxic waste sites still aren’t fully cleaned up. Sewage systems still overflow during storms, and those overflows are getting worse as climate change supercharges storms. New threats are emerging as well.

Scientists found that fish such as perch and roach caught in unmanaged inland waterways, including canals, may contain significant levels of toxic chemicals. … Some samples greatly exceeded limits [for chemicals] that apply to fish on retail sale for human consumption.

Yet the river water is considered safe only for secondary contact, not for swimming. As the river’s condition improved, people began to notice and have been returning to the river. Today, one can see people not only picnicking along its shores, but also boating, kayaking, tubing, even water- and jet-skiing.

The Delaware River is the longest undammed U.S. river east of the Mississippi River. The Delaware River is an interstate boundary its entire length – 330 miles. The deepest point of the Delaware is the Big Eddy at Narrowsburg, N.Y., at ~113 ft.

The channel catfish is the largest member of the catfish family found in New Jersey. … Channel cats are generally bottom feeders, feeding on nearly all aquatic life forms including fish, insects and crustaceans. They feed mostly at night, using their barbels and their sense of taste to find food.

Freshwater Fish of New Jersey

Catfish skin toxin and the venom from their dorsal and pectoral spines may cause a menacing sting. Although these stings are often innocuous, severe tissue necrosis may occur. The hand is the most common site of catfish stings.

When attacked, blue catfish defend themselves with serrated spinal barbs located on both their dorsal and pectoral fins. The spines have glands that expel harmful toxins, which can enter predators’ wounds and cause sharp pain.

Description. The flathead catfish grows to a length of 155 cm (61 in) and may weigh up to 56 kg (123 lb), making it the second-largest North American catfish (after the blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus). The average length is about 25-46 in (64-117 cm). … and weighed 63.45 kg (139 lbs and 14oz.).

Predators. Adult flathead catfish have few natural predators. Their most common predators are members of their own species and humans who fish for them. However, young flathead catfish are sometimes eaten by turtles, larger fish and wading birds such as great blue herons.

Best Catfish Bait For Flathead Catfish. Flatheads feed primarily on live baits. Good hearty and lively baits like live perch, bluegill, sunfish, goldfish or mudcats are the preferred bait for catching flatheads.

Catfish are primarily omnivorous bottom feeders that feed at night. Common food items include aquatic plants and seeds, fish, mollusks, insects and their larvae, and crustaceans.