USDA Announces $2 Million Investment in Seafood Processing Facilities for Wild-Caught Invasive Catfish

(Washington, D.C., March 18, 2026) - U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business-Cooperative Programs Administrator J.R. Claeys today announced that seafood processors in Maryland and Illinois will receive a total of $2 million to create new and better markets for the processing of invasive, wild-caught catfish through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. This directly enhances Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins initiative by strengthen the capacity of existing processors to help reduce the population of invasive wild-caught catfish, especially in Chesapeake Bay, where they are causing significant ecological damage.

"This investment in the processing of invasive wild-caught catfish not only solves a problem but also adds to the list of ways Secretary Rollins and the USDA are supporting President Trump's America First agenda by investing in economic opportunity and prosperity in rural communities," said Claeys.

• BSA Seafood LLC. has received $1 million through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program to purchase and install equipment at its facility located in Denton, Maryland. This expansion site will be used to purchase invasive blue catfish from regional watermen, process them, and produce value-added products that are distributed directly to restaurants, retailers, cash-and-carry, and institutions. This will increase annual removals of invasive blue catfish from area waterways, resulting in over 500,000 pounds processed annually, creating 20 full-time jobs and retaining 15.
• Chippin, Inc. headquartered in Virginia, has received $1 million through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program to complete facility upgrades and purchasing specialized equipment for its processing facility located in Valmeyer, Illinois. The upgrades will help Chippin, Inc., bring catfish to scale in the pet food market. Chippin, Inc. is a primary fish processor and pet food brand headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

The Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program provides grants to help eligible independent processors to expand their capacity. USDA Rural Development designed the program to encourage competition and sustainable growth in the United States meat processing sector and to help improve supply chain resiliency.

Eligible applicants include for‐profit and nonprofit entities, producer-owned cooperatives and corporations, certified benefit corporations, Tribes and Tribal entities, state or local government entities, and other business types (regardless of legal structure). Private entities must be independently owned and operated, and all entities must be domestically owned. Under this round of Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program funding, the applicants' facilities must be engaged in processing invasive wild-caught catfish and physically located and operating in the United States or its territories.

USDA has awarded more than $200 million to independent businesses under the program. These projects have created thousands of jobs across the country. Learn more about USDA's investments to strengthen the meat and poultry supply chain at usda.gov/meat.

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