Hardhead catfish 



Ah us felis 

 Adult 



5 cm 



(fromGoode 1884) 



Common Name: hardhead catfish 



Scientific name: Arius felis 



Other Common Names: sea catfish, hardhead, silver 



cat, tourist trout (Arnold et al. 1960, Benson 1982, 



Breuer 1 957, Bryan 1 971 , Christmas and Waller 1 973); 



macA7o/roncr7af(French), bagre gato (Spanish) (Fischer 



1978). 



Classification (Robins et al. 1991) 



Phylum: Chordata 



Class: Osteichthyes 



Order: Cypriniformes 



Family: Ariidae 



Value 



Commercial : The hardhead catfish is not sought by the 

 commercial fishery because it has a low market value 

 and becomes entangled in nets and pump hoses. It 

 contributes a small portion (2-3%) to the industrial 

 bottom fish fishery of Louisiana and Mississippi, which 

 uses low value fish to produce pet food, fish meal, fish 

 oil, and protein supplements for animal feeds. How- 

 ever, it is frequently discarded due to the possibility of 

 animals ingesting its spines (Haskell 1 961 , Roithmayr 

 1965, Dunham 1972, Swingle 1977, Benson 1982). It 

 was used briefly as a food fish during World Wars I and 

 II (Gunter 1 945). Its nutritive value compares favorably 

 with croaker, spot, and spotted seatrout, but attempts 

 to market it as human food have failed because the 

 meat is dark and often has a strong odor (Benson 

 1982). 



Recreational : Hardhead catfish are frequently caught, 

 but are usually discarded by anglers. They are held in 

 low esteem because of their sharp venomous spines, 

 undesirable flesh, and difficulty in handling and remov- 

 ing them from the hook (Gunter 1945, Arnold et al. 



1960, Harris and Rose 1968, Fontenot and Rogillio 

 1 970, Hoese and Moore 1 977, Swingle 1 977). Fishery 

 statistics for the Gulf of Mexico showed a combined 

 total recreational catch of 18,474,000 saltwater cat- 

 fishes (hardhead catfish and gafftopsail catfish (Bagre 

 marinus}) in 1 988 (NMFS 1 989). Although edible, this 

 fish is not often consumed due to its reputation of 

 feeding on any available organic matter (Gallaway and 

 Strawn 1974). 



Indicator of Environmental Stress : This species has 

 been used in research on the effects of sublethal 

 copper exposure on marine fish (Scarfe et al. 1982, 

 Steele 1 989). It has been used to study prevalence of 

 pathological abnormalities as an indicator of environ- 

 mental stress (Fournieetal. 1996). Bioaccumulationof 

 contaminants and liver lesions in hardhead catfish 

 have been found to be correlated with substrate con- 

 taminant levels in Tampa Bay (McCain et al. 1996). 



Ecological : The hardhead catfish is highly abundant in 

 shallow coastal waters of southeastern U.S., but is 

 occasionally found in deep water (Chittenden and 

 McEachron 1976). It is an opportunistic feeder, and 

 can utilize diverse food sources. This may account for 

 its successful adaptation to different habitats (Darnell 

 1958, Hildebrand 1958, Hellier 1962, Diener et al. 

 1974, Dugas 1975, Hoese and Moore 1977, Benson 

 1 982). It is not a major forage species, but is important 

 in estuarine ecosystems as a scavenger (Fontenot and 

 Rogillio 1970, Wagner 1973). This fish is very abun- 

 dant in estuarine habitats, and can compete with game 

 fishes for space and food (Fontenot and Rogillio 1 970, 

 Muncy and Wingo 1983). 



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