Comparative Swimming Performance of Juvenile Pond‐Cultured and Wild‐Caught Channel Catfish

Abstract

AbstractWe compared the swimming performance of juvenile pond‐cultured and wild‐caught channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus using a fixed‐velocity, time‐to‐fatigue protocol as a measure of overall fitness. Swimming performance of juvenile catfish from each source was determined at 10‐cm/s intervals between speeds of 30 and 120 cm/s. The identified swimming performance categories included sustained speeds (swimming speeds without fatigue in times ≥200 min: aerobic metabolism); prolonged speeds (swimming speeds with fatigue in times ≥20 s but <200 min: mixed aerobic and anaerobic metabolism); and burst (swimming speeds with fatigue in times <20 s: anaerobic metabolism). The maximum sustained swimming speed (maximum speed without fatigue in times ≥200 min) was 40 cm/s for both pond‐cultured and wild‐caught juveniles. The maximum prolonged swimming speed (maximum speed with fatigue in times ≥200 min) was 90 and 100 cm/s for wild‐caught and pond‐cultured juvenile catfish, respectively. The swimming performance of pond‐cultured and wild‐caught juvenile catfish differed significantly only at 120 cm/s, which was a burst swimming speed for wild‐caught juveniles and a prolonged swimming speed for pond‐cultured juveniles. The burst swimming speed for pond‐cultured juveniles was not determined but was estimated to be more than 120 cm/s. The total length, standard length, fork length, and condition factor of juvenile pond‐cultured and wild‐caught catfish were not significantly different. The reported swimming performance data provide important information on the overall fitness (e.g., ability to obtain prey and avoid predation) of juvenile pond‐cultured and wild‐caught catfish that will benefit fisheries managers considering the stocking of juvenile pond‐cultured channel catfish in managed lakes and rivers as well as research scientists developing and evaluating improved strains of channel catfish for commercial production.