AN OVERVIEW OF AQUACULTURE RESEARCH IN THE SOUTHEAST FISHERIES CENTER'S GALVESTON LABORATORY1

Abstract

AbstractThe Aquaculture Program at the Galveston Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Southeast Fisheries Center is divided into 2 phases, experimental and demonstration. The experimental phase includes maturation and reproduction, grow‐out and economical and biological evaluation. Positive economic and biological evaluation in the experimental phase will lead to phase 2, the demonstration of a pilot operation. Successful completion of the demonstration phase, which will be conducted in cooperation with industry, will eventually lead to commercial rearing of marine animals for either food, bait or seeding of wild stocks. The major thrust of this program has been to rear shrimp for bait, a research investment warranted by the demand for bait shrimp and prospects for success. Results to date indicate that shrimp can be reared in closed systems to a size suitable for sale in the northern Gulf of Mexico as bait shrimp. In addition, studies are being conducted to culture marine sea turtles, specifically loggerhead, and release the cultured juveniles into the wild in an attempt to increase wild populations of depleted, threatened or endangered species. Further, studies have been successful in rearing finfish in closed systems, and future work will be concentrated on the rearing of striped bass, redfish, and snapper for release in the marine environment as juveniles in an attempt to increase or augment wild populations.