Dear Editor:
Iowa doesn’t have the problem with shipworms that we have inherited! Could the reason be Channel Cats?
Channel cats, river kitties, commonly called catfish prevail in shallow waters near piers, in estuaries and rivers!
Their food source is whatever is available en masse, and the time they are hungriest is April, May and June and after (when our Shipworms are growing and expanding and crowding our piers). Catfish track their prey by the scent, and the out of control Toredo Population emit an odor that they use to digest the wood, thus climbing inside the pier and having their odiferous tails hanging out as an enticement while moving in the river.
Catfish usually grow to eight to twelve inches and a great snack for them, as they grow, would be this pesky mollusk. A great idea for a science lab experiment, or a testing marina site…
Additionally, Catfish are bottom feeders so that if introduced into an area containing a marina, the boat propellers would not decimate their population, but would help clear the barnacles that attach themselves to the bows of boats. This could save some serious money on hull repair and careening. (Careening, i.e. taking the boats out to scrape the hull or repair the damage from the Toredos!)
Importing these Channel Cats from Iowa certainly wouldn’t carry a price tag of twelve million of the taxpayers money, and might become a green and ecological solution to our pier problem. Thus far, no one has either suggested it or tried it.
Margaret O’Brien
Kitchen scientist
Hoboken