U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) is pressing the USDA to act against a deadly foreign virus that threatens to gut Alabama’s catfish industry, the second largest in the nation.
Britt led several Senate colleagues in a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting that the department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service conduct a formal risk assessment of the Yellow Catfish Virus.
The virus, first identified during widespread outbreaks in Chinese aquaculture operations in 2020, carries mortality rates approaching 90% in infected catfish populations and can survive freezing and thawing, creating a direct pathway into the U.S. market through imported fish products.
Alabama produces roughly 33% of all farm-raised catfish in the United States, with approximately 66 farms concentrated across the Black Belt Region. The industry employs more than 2,400 people and contributes nearly $92 million in economic value to the state.
The letter urged APHIS to place the burden of proof on exporting countries, requiring them to demonstrate their products are free from the virus before entering the American market.
“The Catfish Farmers of America strongly supports Senator Britt’s call for science-based action from USDA to address the serious threat posed by Yellow Catfish Virus,” said Chad Causey, Executive Vice President of Catfish Farmers of America. “Our farmers work every day to produce safe, sustainable, and high-quality American catfish, and they should not be forced to shoulder the burden of proving the absence of foreign disease risks.”
“We appreciate Senator Britt’s steadfast support of Alabama farmers,” said Jimmy Parnell, Alabama Farmers Federation President. “This is just another example of her going to bat for American agriculture and, specifically, the Alabama producers and rural communities that rely on farm-raised catfish.”
“This disease would be devastating to the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry, and we must be vigilant in implementing safeguards to prevent it being introduced here,” said Sid Nelson, Chairman of the Catfish Division of the Alabama Farmers Federation.
Britt praised Rollins’ leadership on agriculture and said she looks forward to continuing the partnership to promote food security in Alabama and across the country.
U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) also signed the letter.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
