Aquaculture

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Aquaculture
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Aquaculture

• the controlled production of animals that
  normally live in water (fish farming)
• three thousand year old practice started by the
  Egyptians and Chinese

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Aquaculture

• two types of water creatures
• freshwater
• saltwater

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Aquaculture

• animals raised for production may include
• crustaceans (shrimp and crayfish)
• mollusks (clams and oysters)
• amphibians (frogs)
• reptiles (alligators)

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Aquaculture

• fish provide a high quality high protein supply
  of meat
• as with other agriculture animals humans soon
  discovered that by producing their own aquatic
  animals that the supply available to the consumer
  would be more dependable and easier to harvest

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Aquaculture

• commercial growth growing of fish
• five million tons a year produced
• demands of the consumer has increased

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Aquaculture

• aquatic animals are produced efficiently and
  economically
• fish account for 12 of the meat consumed in the
  US

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Fish Production

• many advantages over other agricultural animals
• 9lbs. Feed for 1lbs. Of gain for steer
• 2lbs. Feed for 1lbs. Of gain a fish

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Fish Production

• fish are ectothermic (cold-blooded)
• this means less energy goes into maintaining a
  constant body temp

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Fish Production

• fish have a higher percentage of edible meat (up
  to 85)
• up to 6000 pounds fish can be raised on one acre

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Fish Production

• Problems in fish production
• dissolved oxygen level must be maintained
• shipping the meat (fish spoils quickly)
• operations are labor intensive
• operations are high risk

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Fish Respiration

• breathe oxygen
• use gills to take oxygen from the water and put
  it to use in the bloodstream
• gills act just as lungs do

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Fish Respiration

• The oxygen is put into the water through
• photosynthesis
• process in which aquatic plants which releases
  dissolved oxygen into the water

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Fish Respiration

• directly from the sun penetrating the oxygen into
  the waves
• aeration by crating waves

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Fish Respiration

• if the dissolved oxygen level falls below a
  certain point the fish may suddenly die
  (suffocate)

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Commercially Grown

• grouped into two categories
• warm water
• thrive in temps above 60 degrees
• catfish and tilapia most popular in US

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Cold Water

• thrive in waters that are 70 degrees or less
• Trout and Salmon most popular in the US

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Catfish Production

• most widely grown production fish in the US
• smooth skin with no scales

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Catfish Production

• nearly 100,000 metric tons produced each year at
  a value of 380 million
• survive on lower levels of dissolved oxygen than
  most other production fish

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Channel Catfish

• most widely used
• Mississippi leads in channel cat production
• raised in ponds less than 6 feet deep

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Egg production

• female catfish lay eggs in nests that are
  provided by the producer
• eggs are collected and placed in tanks or jars in
  the hatchery

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Egg production

• eggs are moved back and forth by use of paddles
  in a wave-like action
• fish eggs must be turned just as bird eggs are in
  order to hatch

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Egg production

• When small fish hatch (called fry) they are
  placed in tanks until they are about two inches
  long (then called fingerlings)
• fingerlings are transferred into a pond or huge
  tank until they weigh two pounds

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Egg production

• fish are fed twice a day
• fish are harvested using seines (large nets)
• another method of raising production fish is
  using large submerged cages

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Cages

• advantages
• fish may be inspected more closely
• less feed is wasted
• predator problems are solved
• harvesting is easier

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Tilapia Production

• native to Africa
• resemble our native sunfish
• reproduce prolifically
• grow rapidly

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Tilapia Production

• can survive high temp, low oxygen and overcrowded
  conditions
• cannot survive in water below 50 degrees

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Trout Production

• considered the best tasting fish
• high percentage of their body is edible meat
• cold water fish

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Trout Production

• most trout are raised in concrete raceways where
  the water is constantly moving
• moving water keeps the water cooler and keeps the
  dissolved oxygen level higher

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Trout Production

• disease control is easier in this environment

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Salmon Production

• cold water fish
• raised in floating net cages that are anchored in
  bays of oceans
• usually takes 18-24 months to finish out the fish
• harvested at 9-11 pounds

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Salmon Production

• very meaty fish with a favorable taste
• most salmon that is consumed is caught in the
  ocean rather than raised in captivity

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Sport fishing

• hatcheries stock lakes and streams
• recreational fishing creates other industry
• fishing tackle stores
• boats

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Sport fishing

• guide services
• restaurant, hotel and other stores near the water

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Bullfrog Production

• frog legs are considered a gourmet food
• most frogs are raised in the wild
• demand for frogs far exceed the supply

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Bullfrog Production

• attempts to raise bullfrogs in captivity have
  been unsuccessful for many reasons
• 1. Animals are territorial
• 2. Frogs only eat food that is alive, no
  processed food

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Bullfrog Production

• 3. Predators (raccoons and snakes)
• research is still being done to find a way to
  raise bullfrogs for production purposes

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Crayfish

• Craw Dads, Crawfish, or Mud Bugs
• Louisiana leads in crawfish production
• 1000 pounds per acre can be produced

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Crayfish

• raised in large earthen ponds that are less than
  two feet deep
• can be grown along with crops such as rice
• crawfish are omnivorous (they eat both plants and
  animals)

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Crayfish

• main diet is decaying plants, worms and insect
  larvae

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Alligator Production

• alligators were hunted to a point near extinction
• hides are very valuable
• conservation efforts have brought the population
  back

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Alligator Production

• alligators are harvested at the age of 26 months
  of age and five to six feet long
• hides are sold to make bags, boots, shoes and
  various other leather type goods

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Alligator Production

• skulls and teeth are also a hot commodity
• meat is very tasty and is sold to restaurants

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Alligator Production

• process of raising alligators
• females build nests from vegetation and mud and
  lay an average of 40 eggs each time

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Alligator Production

• producers remove the eggs from the nest to limit
  the loss to predators
• eggs are marked so that the proper end will be in
  the right position to ensure a good hatch

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Alligator Production

• eggs are wrapped in hay and are kept moist
• the hay contains a bacteria that breaks down the
  shell allowing the babies to break through the
  shell

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Alligator Production

• temperature is critical to determining the sex of
  the newborn alligator
• temps above 93 degrees produce all males

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Alligator Production

• temps below 86 degrees produce all females
• temp of 88 degrees produces an even mixture
• alligators are fed fish, products from poultry
  industry

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Alligator Production

• carcasses of animals that are slaughtered for
  their fur only