Catfish terror: thinly disguised protectionism.

• Author: Howley, Kerry
• Position: Brief Article

Since mid-August bureaucrats in Alabama and Louisiana have shown a profound concern over the health risks of Vietnamese catfish, known as basa. State governments are so concerned, in fact, that they've decided to ban basa altogether. Explained Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom,"I will do whatever I have to protect the consumer."

Entirely by coincidence, the two states are the largest producers of U.S. catfish--and they've been losing ground to imports for a decade. To make matters worse, a University of Mississippi study, released in July, found that consumers prefer the taste of cheap Vietnamese basa to domestic catfish by a ratio of 3 to 1. Weeks after the report was released, the fish was banned in both states.

State agricultural commissions claim the Vietnamese variety is dangerous, pointing to fish in Westwago, Louisiana, that tested positive for an antibiotic that is not approved by the Food and...