AMERICAN CATFISHES: HABITS. CULTURE, AND COMMERCIAL 



IMPORTANCE. 



By William Converse Kendall, 

 Assistant, United States Bureau of Fisheries. 



IMPORTANT SPECIES. 



The catfishes are of such commercial value as food that there have 

 arisen extensive and almost special fisheries for them in the South, 

 the Mississippi Valley, and the Great Lakes region; that is to say, 

 in the centers of their greatest abundance. There is, however, very 

 little published information on the habits of any species of catfish, 

 and it has been thought desirable to bring together the most impor- 

 tant published and otherwise available facts on this subject. 



The fresh-water catfishes of the United States of more or less com- 

 mercial importance may be classified in a popular way as channel 

 cats {Ictalurus), mud cats {Ameiurus), yellow cats (Leptops), and 

 stone cats (Noturus). This arrangement is not wholly satisfactory, 

 however, owing to the confusion of the common names, for a mud 

 cat of one locality may be the yellow cat of another, and the yellow 

 cat here may be the stone cat somewhere else, etc. ; then, too, there 

 is no distinct line between channel cats and mud cats. The technical 

 nomenclature and synonymy of these fishes are not in much better 

 condition than the popular classification; therefore the discussion 

 in the following pages will be more or less generic. Owing to the 

 similarity of habits, moreover, it is unnecessary to discuss more than 

 the most common forms except in a very general way. 



The catfishes are a hardy race, very prolific, and in habits and struc- 

 ture comparatively safe from enemies. P'or these reasons wherever 

 they occur they are usually very abundant. In late years, however, 

 the demand for these fish has reached such dimensions that in some 

 localities extensive inroads have been made upon their numbers and 

 there has arisen the problem of how to repopulate the depleted waters. 

 It has not, until recently at least, been considered necessary to resort 

 to artificial propagation of catfishes, and there have been but few, 

 if any, attempts in that direction. There are a few instances of pond 

 culture, which will be referred to in another place. 



Of about a dozen species appearing in the markets, probably not 

 more than one-half are very common or merit more than passing 



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