Channel catfish
Ictalurus punctatus
The channel catfish, known informally as the "channel cat", is a species of catfish native to North America. They are North America's most abundant catfish species, and the official state fish of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee.
Channel catfish are an important food fish in the southern United States and the backbone of American catfish farming, making up about 90% of farm-raised catfish. They're the most fished catfish species in the country, with around 8 million anglers chasing them each year.
Channel catfish are North America's most abundant catfish, native to southern Canada, the eastern and northern US, and parts of northern Mexico. They thrive in rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and ponds, roughly following the Mississippi River Basin between the Appalachians and the Rockies.
Also known as
- channel cat
Channel catfish in foreign languages
| Scientific | Ictalurus punctatus |
| Hebrew | שפמנון תעלות |
| Spanish | Pez gato americano |
| Portuguese | bagre-americano |
| French | Barbue de rivière |
| Italian | Channel |
| German | Getüpfelter Gabelwels |
| Greek | Γατόψαρο |
| Russian | Канальный сомик |
| Chinese | 斑点叉尾鮰 |
| Japanese | アメリカナマズ |
| Korean | 찬넬동자개 |
| Vietnamese | Cá nheo Mỹ |
| Thai | ปลากดอเมริกัน |
Gallery
- Has fins but no scales, so it is not kosher.
- The pectoral and dorsal fin spines can prick you if the fish is handled carelessly, but that's no more dangerous than a mosquito bite, not a venomous sting.