Van Hollen Statement on Launch of USDA Programs to Address Invasive Blue Catfish
Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement that it will make $6 million available from the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) for seafood companies to expand processing of invasive blue catfish from the Chesapeake Bay, and commit to purchase $2 million of catfish to support processors and bring it to new markets. Senator Van Hollen fought to secure funding and language in the Fiscal Year 2024 funding bill to spur these investments.
“Invasive blue catfish are bad for our economy and bad for our environment. They threaten Maryland’s iconic blue crabs and rockfish, upsetting the ecological balance of the Chesapeake Bay and the livelihoods of those who depend on it. One key way we can tackle this problem is by eating through it – which is why I worked on a bipartisan basis to secure federal resources to boost blue catfish processing and purchasing. I’m glad to see the USDA is finally getting these resources out the door – bolstering our efforts to get more blue catfish out of the Bay and onto kitchen tables.”
Through the American Rescue Plan, Senator Van Hollen worked to create the MPPEP under the USDA, to help small food processors expand their capacity and address processing challenges that increased the cost of getting products to market. He also fought to fund the program at $3 million through the fiscal year 2024 agriculture appropriations bill – which was then extended at an additional $3 million in the fiscal year 2025 funding bill – and directed USDA to prioritize proposals that support the processing of invasive wild-caught catfish as they implemented the MPPEP. Additionally, he secured language in the fiscal year 2024 agriculture appropriations bill directing the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to work with wild-caught catfish processors to become approved providers for AMS purchases, resulting in USDA’s commitment today to purchase $2 million of blue catfish.