“Our industry has grown over 400 percent in the last three years, but it could go away in short order if something is not done,” said Mark Kubecka, president of the privately held Texas Aquaculture Cooperative in Markham and of the Catfish Association of Texas.
“This is just not for the protection of the farm commodity that we produce, but for the food safety of all Americans.”
That is the message a handful of Matagorda County catfish growers took to Todd Staples, commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture, when he visited Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture last Thursday.
Foreign imports threat to catfish industry
US - The Texas catfish industry has quadrupled in recent years, but foreign imports could cripple the emerging industry if the state does not move to protect the homegrown product.