The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making $6 million in grant funding to help seafood processors expand their operations and marketing of invasive blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the grant program Aug. 6 at a visit to a catfish processor with Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., in his Eastern Shore district. The USDA partnering with the Maryland Department of Agriculture in a one-year pilot program to purchase up to $2 million worth of catfish from Chesapeake Bay, aimed to “support regional processors, remove invasive catfish from the Bay, and provide nutritious protein to families in need through food banks and other food distributors,” according to an agency statement.

“The project here in Maryland I visited today with Representative Harris is a win for our rural communities who now have a new processing facility that will support good paying jobs, a win for our fishermen who are ridding the Chesapeake of a destructive invasive species, and a win for our local communities who have another source of protein for the charitable feeding network,” said Rollins.

“This investment will help us fight back against the invasive blue catfish species that’s threatening our native fisheries and hurting local economies,”  said Harris.

Eligible projects may receive grants from $250,000 up to $1 million. Successful applicants must be able to cover 50 percent of their total project cost. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. on October 6, 2025. Details on eligibility and requirements are available on Grants.gov.