Evaluation of Feed Response Methods to Estimate Inventory of Catfish in Commercial Ponds

Abstract

Most commercial catfish ponds in the United States contain fish of various sizes ranging from 35 g fingerlings to >1.5 kg fish. Catfish farmers, when required by lenders and bankruptcy judges to estimate pond inventories, rely primarily on methods based on daily feeding response of catfish. These methods have not been evaluated systematically. Daily feed data from experimental (0.1-ha and 1.6-ha) and commercial (4-ha) ponds were used to characterize feed response of catfish and to compare the accuracy and precision of feeding response methods used to estimate fish inventories. Daily feed consumption of catfish was highly variable. Inventories estimated with feed response methods had errors of 16% to 37% in single-batch production and 28% to 49% in multiple-batch production. Inventories estimated with feed response methods were too inaccurate and variable for reliable use in management by lenders or the courts.

Keywords:

• Catfish
• feed response
• catfish pond inventory
• inventory estimation

Acknowledgments

Partial funding for this project was provided by the USDA-Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (Project 2003-38500-12997 and 2005-38500-15815). The authors acknowledge Brent Southworth and Craig Tucker for use of their data and Wayne Branton for access to feed data and allowing us to seine his ponds. We thank Nathan Stone, Anita Kelly, and Larry Dorman for helpful and constructive comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

Notes

1. Engle et al. (1998) demonstrated inventory estimates in catfish ponds with less than 10% error with the depletion method, the most accurate method yet reported in the literature. However, depletion methods are practical only under special circumstances.