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CHANNEL CATFISH CULTURE Channel Catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) Native Range of Channel Catfish in the United States Food Habits Preferred Habitat Rivers Reservoirs and lakes Reproductive Live History 1. Sexual maturity is reached in 2 to 3 years in the southeastern U. S. 2. Spawning takes place in a cavity formed by rocks, logs or a hole in a lake or river bank. 3. Preferred spawning water temperatures: 21-29 C, with optimal temperature 24 to 26 C. Sexual behavior 1. Males defend a territory/cavity. 2. Female enters the cavity and spawns. 3. Males incubate eggs and defend fry. 4. Males can spawn with more than one female a season. Spawning cavity Catfish are grown in 4 to 10 ha earthen ponds with flat bottoms. Catfish ponds are filled with either: Filtered surface water or rainfall Well water Spawning in captivity: 1. Stock adults 3 to 8 years old 2. Stock 1 male to 2 females 3. Stock 800 kg of brooders/ha female male Spawning Containers Ammo cans Milk cans float Boxes in spawning pond Wooden box Spawning occurs during May and June in the Southeastern U. S. Spawning cans are checked every 2 to 3 days for spawns. Hatching Shed Eggs are transported to a hatching shed. Eggs are placed in 5-mm square wire mesh baskets suspended in a paddlewheel incubator. Eggs hatch in 5 to 6 days at water temperatures of 24 to 26 °C. Fry are placed in screen boxes or troughs for 7 to 14 days before stocking in ponds. Fry are fed powdered feed. Screen bottom boxes Fiberglass trough Fry are stocked at 150,000 to 250,000/ha and grown for 5 months. Fry are fed powdered, crumbled and pelleted feeds. Fingerlings are stocked in fattening ponds during January to March. Stocking density is 15,000 to 20,000/ha. Catfish feed is purchased by the bag or delivered in bulk and stored in silos. Floating pellets are distributed by a feed blower mounted on a truck. Floating pellets corn wheat soybean Feed amount is controlled by an electronic scale located in the truck cab. Catfish are fed what they will eat up to a maximum of 120 kg/ha/day. Dissolved oxygen concentration is checked night and day to assure that levels remain above 2 mg/l. Electric (fixed) and tractor (mobile) powered paddlewheels are used to increase D. O. levels. No water exchange is practiced because ponds are large and pumping water is costly. Low D. O. can kill catfish within 1 or 2 hours. Many diseases cause fish mortality. Birds consume many fish in some regions. Shoo ! Gas cannon to scare the birds Catfish are removed from the pond with a seine stored on a hydraulic reel powered by a tractor. Management systems used: 1. Monoharvest • All catfish are removed from the pond when they reach 0.5 to 1.0 kg, 6 to 12 months from stocking. • Ponds are drained yearly. 2. Multi-harvest • Only catfish larger than 0.5 kg are removed by partial seine harvest. • Ponds are restocked yearly with small catfish. Large and small catfish are in the pond together. • Ponds are partial harvested 2 to 3 times per year. Ponds are drained every 5 to 8 years. Catfish are retained in a holding net overnight to eliminate small catfish. Fish are crowded for loading onto the transport truck. A crew of 5 can load 15,000 kg of fish in 1 hour. Catfish are weighed onto trucks taking the fish to the processing factory. Each basket holds 900 kg of fish. scale Fish are checked for off-flavor 2 weeks, 1 day and upon arrival at the processor. Off-flavor fish are not harvested. Catfish are weighed a second time upon arrival at the processor. Fish arrive alive. scale Catfish are cleaned, filleted and frozen by the processor. whole steaks strips Fillets and nuggets Processed forms as a percentage of total catfish processed: 1. Whole - 20 % 2. Pieces and bellies - 20% 3. Fillets - 60 % Preservation method as a percentage of total catfish processed: 1. iced - 20 % 2. frozen - 80 % The catfish industry maintains a quality control program to insure the consumer a fresh and healthy product. Principle farming states are located in the Southeastern U. S.. Mississippi (MS) Alabama (AL) and Arkansas (AR) produce 90 % of the farmed catfish. Mississippi accounts for 65 % of farmed catfish The channel catfish industry developed in the Southeast because: 1. Popular food fish - market 2. Warm climate 3. Abundant water and clay soils 4. Close to major grain farming regions - cheap fish feeds Pond yield 4,000 to 7,000 kg/ha/year Channel Catfish Growth in Live Weight Processed and Average Price per Kilogram, 1970 - 2002 YEAR ------1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 1999 2000 2001 2002 * Price LIVE WEIGHT PROCESSED, KG --------------------2,609,545 7,336,363 21,120,000 87,098,181 163,636,360 203,130,000 271,194,000 269,819,540 271,141,272 286,636,810 AVG. PRICE* PER KG, $US. ----------------0.75 1.09 1.50 1.58 1.69 1.74 1.63 1.65 1.43 1.25 to farmer for fish delivered to the processing plant EAT MORE CATFISH