CHANNEL CATFISH PRODUCTION WITH COMBINATION AND REPLACEMENT STOCKING

Abstract A production strategy for channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus that helps increase pond production, keeps size-classes of fish in discrete groups, and provides multiple harvest dates throughout the year was developed and tested. Fingerling catfish were graded into three different size-groups and stocked into 0.04-ha ponds at a density of 900 fish/pond (450 fish stocked loose in the pond and 450 fish stocked in a 1.25-m3 cage). The caged fish were either harvested for the whole-fish market (weight, 90–330 g) or transferred into vacated ponds when the daily feeding rate of the total pond (open pond and cage) reached 112 kg/ha. The remaining fish were fed until the daily feeding rate again reached 112 kg/ha; the fish in the open pond were then harvested for the fillet market (510–850 g). As a result of the combination stocking (fish stocked both loose in a pond and in a cage within the same pond) and the separation of size-cohorts, fish were harvested six times over an approximately 14-month period. ...