diff --git a/src/specify_cli/integrations/catalog.py b/src/specify_cli/integrations/catalog.py
index 1794caad83..b3be8a84e3 100644
--- a/src/specify_cli/integrations/catalog.py
+++ b/src/specify_cli/integrations/catalog.py
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ def _fetch_single_catalog(
                         max_bytes=MAX_JSON_METADATA_BYTES,
                         error_type=IntegrationCatalogError,
                         label=f"catalog from {entry.url}",
-                    )
+                    ).decode("utf-8")
                 )
 
             shape_error = _catalog_shape_error(catalog_data)