Families join 42-hour tournament to remove invasive catfish from San Felipe Creek

In San Felipe Creek, families spent 42 hours over the weekend of June 19 through June 21 trying to thin a species that local conservation leaders say has no place in the waterway. The annual Armored Catfish Tournament brought Casa de la Cultura, the San Felipe Creek Coalition and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department together for a hands-on cleanup aimed at helping native fish reproduce and thrive.

Registration was free and took place Friday evening at Casa de la Cultura on Cantu Street, where participants received bracelets, fish information and tournament rules. Organizers told teams to bring casting nets, especially because armored catfish are easier to catch in hotter conditions, and no fishing license was required because the fish are invasive. Teams could include three or four people, and the event offered cash prizes of $400 for first place, $250 for second and $150 for third.

Lupita De La Paz, executive director of Casa de la Cultura, said the tournament has been going on for more than 10 years, reflecting how long the invasive fish problem has been on local radar. Armored catfish were first discovered in the San Felipe Creek area in the late 1990s, and Texas Invasives describes them as plecos or suckermouth catfish native to tropical South America. The group says aquarium dumping is a primary way the fish have entered U.S. waters, and the species can grow from 3 inches to more than 3 feet, burrow into banks and destabilize creek edges.

For Del Rio and Val Verde County, the stakes are bigger than a single tournament. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department classifies San Felipe Creek as a high-water-quality stream segment with exceptional aquatic life and unique communities, and researchers have tied the creek to groundwater recharge and discharge of the Edwards Aquifer. A 2024 fish inventory of upper San Felipe Creek found only 16 of 49 historically documented species between 2019 and 2022, though it did repeatedly observe the federally threatened Devils River minnow and still documented invasive suckermouth catfish and blue tilapia.

Texas Parks and Wildlife says aquatic invasive species create major costs for fishing, boating and wildlife habitat, and effective statewide management would require about $45 million a year. The state has been allocating roughly $3.2 million annually since fiscal 2016, leaving local efforts like the San Felipe Creek tournament as a practical line of defense. Residents who want to help have a clear path already in place through Casa de la Cultura, the San Felipe Creek Coalition and their partners, which include TPWD, the National Park Service, the City of Del Rio and Val Verde County.