As gafftopsail catfish grow longer, they increase in weight, but the relationship is not linear.

The gafftopsail catfish is blue-grey to dark brown with a light grey belly.

Gafftopsail catfish are good eating; the red lateral line should be removed to prevent "muddy taste."

In addition to humans, predators of the gafftopsail catfish include the tiger shark and bull shark.

Unlike many other catfish, which are primarily bottom feeders, the gafftopsail catfish feeds throughout the water column.

The gafftopsail catfish has maxillary barbels and one pair of barbels on the chin.

A less abundant species, more highly regarded as a game and food fish, is the Gafftopsail catfish, Bagre marinus.

Fish that can be caught in the park area include sand seatrout, speckled trout, gafftopsail catfish, drum, and flounder, among others.

Bagre marinus (Gafftopsail catfish)

Gafftopsail catfish spawn over inshore mudflats during a relatively short time span (10 days) from May to August; they are mouthbreeders.

The gafftopsail catfish is a common catch in the Southeastern United States, although it is also caught as far north as New York.

The relationship described in this section suggests a 12-inch gafftopsail catfish will weigh about one pound, while a 20-inch fish will likely weigh about five pounds.

The hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis) is a saltwater species of sea catfish similar to the gafftopsail catfish.

The gafftopsail catfish looks similar to the hardhead catfish, but its dorsal spine has a distinctive fleshy extension (like the fore-and-aft topsail of a ship).

The gafftopsail catfish, Bagre marinus, is found in the waters of the western central Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

Annual harvests vary greatly, but from 1987-2001, 1.04 million pounds of marine catfishes (including both the hardhead catfish and the gafftopsail catfish) were harvested in the IRL region.

Bagre marinus (Gafftopsail catfish)