Wels Catfish

Q: Can you eat Wels Catfish?

Fatty, soft flesh with a mild, slightly sweet flavor; quality improves from cold, clean water fish. Popular in Central European cuisines — commonly smoked, fried, or braised with vegetables.

Q: How big does Wels Catfish get?

Wels Catfish can grow up to 500.0 cm long and weigh 300.0 kg.

Q: Where is Wels Catfish found?

Native to large river systems and lakes of central and eastern Europe from the Rhine basin east to the Caspian and Aral sea drainages. Introduced to western Europe; occasionally enters brackish river mouths and coastal lagoons. Large rivers, lakes, and reservoirs across Europe and Asia (Volga, Danube, Rhine, Ob). Inhabits deep, slow-moving freshwater with soft substrates. Tolerates turbid water (15-25°C). Highly nocturnal.

Q: Is Wels Catfish endangered?

The conservation status of Wels Catfish is Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List.

Q: What family does Wels Catfish belong to?

Wels Catfish (Silurus glanis) belongs to the family Siluridae (Sheatfish) in the order Siluriformes (Catfishes).

Abstract

The largest freshwater fish in Europe, the wels catfish can exceed five metres and 300 kilograms in the great rivers and lakes of the continent. Dark olive-green with mottled marbling and a broad, flat head, its smooth, scaleless body glides through deep, slow water where it hunts largely by night. Native from the Rhine east to the Caspian and Aral drainages and introduced across western Europe, it occasionally enters brackish river mouths. It can live over 80 years and has been filmed lunging onto shorelines to seize bathing pigeons. Its soft, fatty, mildly sweet flesh is popular in Central European cooking, and the species is assessed as Least Concern.