Blue catfish have taken over in Maryland. Since spreading to the Chesapeake Bay in recent decades, the fish has become an apex predator. It can grow to more than 100 pounds, and its voracious appetite is fueling worries that it’s eating too many native species. Enter Preston Elementary School. State officials first asked Beth Brewster, who overseas food services for Caroline County Public Schools, to tackle the problem. Brewster, an out-of-the-box thinker, began experimenting with fish recipes that appeal to kids but also conform to federal dietary standards. That’s how she and her team landed on a crabcake-like dish made of blue catfish. Now kids file into the school cafeteria, and alongside grapes and broccoli, they get what they’ve dubbed “catty patty” — catfish cakes. Now, other school districts in both Maryland and Virginia are serving blue catfish. With the Maryland Department of Natural Resources encouraging fishermen to catch as many of the blue catfish as they want, schools in the area will likely never run out of “catty patty."
