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“Five million pounds might sound like a lot,� said Hargrove, owner of Tilghman Island Seafood. “But with an estimated almost 1 billion pounds swimming around in this Chesapeake Bay, it’s gonna take a much larger effort to be able to stop this fish from eating all the things that we love in this state.�

A step in that broader effort was announced last Wednesday at Hargrove’s facility, which sits just past Tilghman Island’s drawbridge. Hargrove was flanked behind a podium by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md., 1st) and state agriculture officials.

Rollins and Harris announced two efforts to aid the processing industry for wild-caught blue catfish, a species that outcompetes its Chesapeake Bay counterparts and preys on native fish and blue crabs.

First, the USDA is opening $6 million in grant funding to seafood processors, a move Rollins and Harris say will help get the processing industry off its feet.

Harris said it’s all about beefing up the commercial market for current and new wild-caught blue catfish processors. He hopes more facilities like Tilghman Island Seafood pop up on the Eastern Shore.

“The bottom line is we have to do something. I hope it’s not too late,� Harris said. “I think it’s not if we can get this going. But the way to do it is to make sure we can develop a commercial market.�

Individual grants will range from $250,000 to $1 million, per the USDA. Applicants must cover 50% of their total project cost. The application deadline is Oct. 6.

Hargrove said without grant dollars, his business is often “paralyzed� with how many blue catfish it can process and sell. He’s sent shipments as far as San Francisco and Hong Kong.

The newly revealed available grant money could make a significant difference, Hargrove said.

“Hopefully, with this money, we can really automate a lot of our processes,� he said.

For the second effort, Rollins announced the USDA, jointly with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, will purchase up to $2 million of Chesapeake Bay blue catfish in a one-year pilot.

The purchases will be done through USDA’s Section 32 program, Rollins noted, directing food toward low-income areas and residents.

“This dual effort will support regional processors, remove invasive catfish from the Chesapeake Bay and produce nutritious protein to American families,� Rollins said.

Hargrove took Rollins, Harris and other officials through Tilghman Island Seafood’s facility before the formal press conference on Wednesday. Employees showed the process of readying the catfish, and one worker even gave the agriculture secretary a hands-on demonstration on how to properly slice a catfish.

Rollins said she was impressed by the Tilghman Island Seafood employees and the product they put out.

“To see it firsthand, to meet the workers, to see what happens out on the water, and to see the business that is being built and how we in the government can really help to support that is a big takeaway as I go back to D.C.,� Rollins said.