Performance of Channel Catfish and Hybrid Catfish in Single‐Batch, Intensively Aerated Ponds

Abstract

AbstractA pond production trial was conducted to evaluate the economics of raising Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus in intensively aerated ponds operated under the single‐batch cropping system. Channel Catfish fingerlings averaging 0.09 lb were stocked at 6,000, 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000 fish/acre with six replicate ponds (1 acre) per treatment. A treatment of hybrid catfish (♀ Channel Catfish × ♂ Blue Catfish I. furcatus) fingerlings stocked into five replicate ponds at 12,000 fish/acre was concurrently evaluated to compare the economic performance of hybrids and that of Channel Catfish. All ponds were provided with a fixed‐paddlewheel aerator (10 hp/acre) and were fed once daily to apparent satiation for 206 d. For Channel Catfish, the gross yield ranged from 6,562 to 9,039 lb/acre, showing nominally linear trends of increasing yield with stocking density. However, the same trend was not seen in the relationship between costs and stocking density: the highest breakeven price (US$1.07/lb) was associated with the lowest density treatment (6,000 fish/acre), and the least cost ($0.96/lb) was associated with the intermediate density of 8,000 fish/acre. Average annual net cash flows from all Channel Catfish treatments were insufficient to make the investment in intensive aeration profitable in the long run (10 years). The hybrid catfish treatment (12,000 fish/acre) outperformed all Channel Catfish treatments in terms of yield (17,542 lb/acre), which offset some of the fixed costs associated with intensively aerated ponds and resulted in a lower cost of production ($0.85/lb) and better long‐term returns (17%). This study indicated that Channel Catfish do not perform well—either biologically or economically—at densities greater than 8,000 fish/acre in single‐batch, intensively aerated ponds. The study reflects current industry trends, where integrated farms (farms with their own processing plants) with yield‐maximizing business objectives prefer raising hybrid catfish in single‐batch systems, while nonintegrated farms prefer raising Channel Catfish in multiple‐batch systems.