Derrick Jones spends his days off at Rocky Point Park in Essex, reeling in two dozen or more blue catfish on a good outing — then handing over at least half of what he catches to food pantries around the Baltimore area. The 33-year-old Costco employee and part-time real estate agent has become known to fellow anglers simply as Catfish Rick, and his side hustle of feeding families for free has turned invasive fish into one of the region's more unexpected sources of hunger relief.
Jones has loved catfish for most of his life but only learned to catch them about four years ago, according to the Baltimore Sun. Since then, he has made a habit of donating his catch to local food banks rather than keeping it all for himself. “The way I look at it, I love catching it, I love to fillet it and clean it — why not give it away?” Jones said, per the same report.
A Sought-After Addition To Pantry Shelves
Organizers at the area food pantries that receive Jones's donations say his catfish have become some of their most sought-after offerings, the Sun reports. Fresh, wild-caught fish is a rare sight on pantry shelves, which more often stock canned or processed goods, making Jones's regular deliveries a standout item for families relying on emergency food assistance.
Those donations arrive against a backdrop of deepening need. Maryland Food Bank data released in early 2025 found that roughly 90,750 Baltimore City residents and 102,630 Baltimore County residents face food insecurity, according to The Baltimore Banner. The strain extends well beyond the city: a Capital Area Food Bank study found that 38% of households across Washington D.C. and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs experienced food insecurity over the past year, as reported by The Washington Post.
Fishing Grounds With A View Of The Bay
Jones does his fishing at Rocky Point Park, a Baltimore County waterfront property in Essex at the mouth of the Back River, according to the Baltimore County Government. The park offers a 300-foot beach, two boat ramps, a public fishing pier, and a $1 million ARPA-funded accessible trail that opened, with panoramic views stretching toward the Chesapeake Bay and Hart-Miller Island.
The species Jones targets is no accident. Blue catfish are an invasive predator that consumes native blue crabs, white perch, and striped bass in large quantities, a diet that has made them a top target for removal.
State And Federal Efforts To Clear The Bay
Commercial landings of blue catfish in Maryland waters and the Potomac River rose more than 500% in a decade, from 609,525 pounds in 2013 to 4.2 million pounds in 2023, per the state agency's data. The increase has accompanied efforts to develop markets and processing support for the species.
Anglers like Jones target the species for both sport and donation, aligning with ecological management goals.
Size matters when it comes to the safety of eating blue catfish.
Where The Donations Land
The pantries benefiting from Jones's catches operate within a broader network of emergency food providers.
Hoodline previously reported on federal grant funding of more than $6 million secured for the catfish crackdown effort in Annapolis, supporting Maryland DNR blue catfish mitigation research. For Jones, though, the mission stays simple: catch what he can at Rocky Point, clean it, and get it to families who need it.
