Plenty of Fish in the Pond for National Catfish Month
While you’re busy sweatin’, beachin’, and/or avoiding family trips this August, take a moment for catfish, among the many celebrants who hold a claim to fame this month. But it doesn’t come without controversy.
By Liz Days · July 31, 2024
Disclaimer: While August really is National Catfish Month (no, honestly!), this article also contains a splash or two of satire.
It’s National Catfish Month! No, that doesn’t mean it’s time for every creepy, unhappily aging person to pretend to be young, sexy, and sane in order to trick an unsuspecting lover on the internet (nice try, Kyle!). It is, rather, a time to honor the delicious versatility, economic contributions, and health benefits of American-farmed catfish.
Maybe you’re not from Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, or Mississippi, where family-owned farms make up the bulk of U.S. catfish supply; maybe you’ve never enjoyed a fried catfish po’boy on the bayou; or maybe you’re still trying to decide if this is all just an elaborate deception to separate you from your money and your loved ones. Well, get off Fin-der, Deborah, cuz we’re speakin’ truths: Catfish farming contributes $2 billion to the U.S. economy; eating the fish provides proteins, B12 & omega 3s to keep your heart health in check; and it can serve as a delicious addition to your weekday dinner. But not everyone sees National Catfish Month quite this way.
“I was really excited when I first found out I was being celebrated for a whole month. It felt like my birthday, you know, but better, cuz I could share it with all my fellow catfish. But then I hear this is all about how we taste good and all that? I was shocked. For me, National Catfish Month is pretty morbid, actually. I wish I could say that I’m happy my flesh helps humans avoid cardiac arrest, but understandably… I can’t.”
In the wild, catfish can be carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, or even limnivores (chowin’ down on microorganisms within mud and getting simultaneous facials), but U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish come from pure freshwater ponds where they’re fed a nutrient-rich diet of floating grain pellets (yum yum!). This month, which celebrates the work of catfish farmers and encourages Americans to eat more of it, began in 2013. At least one community outside of the fish faction has been speaking out against it ever since.
“Well, you kin slap my ear and call me Mabel if our NAME isn't right there in the catfish name. No one in the cat community authorized this, and we didn’t even know what this fish was called until our servants made a month about it. And you may be sayin' ‘meow, meow, meow… You have Happy Cat Month in September, National Cat Lovers Month in December, Adopt-A-Cat Month in June,’ and to that we say ‘Yes, Ma'am. We deserve every month, and, moreover, the name CAT is ours and ours alone.’ Look here, get us a weekly supply of these so-called ‘catfish’ and maybe we’ll consider droppin' our lawsuits.”
This August, whether or not you choose to celebrate the OTHER “other white meat” (and the suppliers that bring catfish to your table), remember: this month isn’t your only chance to enjoy that southern friend catfish, celebrating anything is fun if you have confetti, and just because it’s got whiskers doesn’t mean it’s a cat (we reported you to the authorities, Kyle. Pack up your basement, you fricken creeper, and start a new life. You’re DONE).