Experimental pond grow-out of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, in South Carolina

Abstract

This study assessed the production potential of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, in intensive pond culture. Six 0.1-ha saltwater ponds at the Waddell Mariculture Center were stocked in April 1986 with juvenile red drum (1.7 – 4.3 g) produced from captive South Carolina brood stock. Stocking densities of 7500, 15 000 and 22 500 fingerlings/ha were compared in duplicate ponds. The fish were fed a 38% protein commercial trout diet (Zeigler Bros.). Salinity averaged 28±3 ppt, and mean water exchange rates were 16.4%, 17.5% and 27.4% per day for the 7500, 15 000 and 22 500 fish/ha densities, respectively, during the 18-month study. A 0.75-hp fountain-type aerator was utilized in the two high density ponds during warm weather in year 1 (1986), and 1-hp paddlewheel aerators were used on a near continuous basis in all ponds during year 2 (1987). An infestation of the parasitic dinoflagellate, Amyloodinium, caused complete mortality of fish reared in one of the highest density ponds on day 146, and a dissolved oxygen depletion resulted in an estimated 35% loss in one medium density pond on day 432. At harvest (28 September–5 October 1987), mean fish weights were 1.3, 1.0, and 1.2 kg, respectively, at the three densities. Harvested biomass averaged 8997.5 kg/ha at the 7500 fish/ha density, with a mean survival of 88.7%. Survival, mean fish weight and crop size at harvest for the medium density (15 000 fish/ha) pond affected by low dissolved oxygen levels were 54.7%, 0.9 kg, and 7251.3 kg/ha, respectively. In contrast, fish in the other medium density pond exhibited 94.9% survival, 1.1 kg mean fish weight and 15 011.3 kg/ha at harvest. The single remaining high density (22 500 fish/ha) pond produced 24 082.5 kg/ha of 1.2 kg fish with 90.6% survival. Food conversion averaged 2.43 (range 2.15 – 2.60). The fish were sold whole at pond bank to commercial dealers for $1.65 – 2.75/kg.