Effects of Pond Renovation on White River Crayfish, Procambarus acutus acutus Production

Abstract

The effects of renovation on the production of white river crayfish, Procambarus acutus acutus were evaluated in ten 0.1-ha earthen ponds. The bottoms and levees of five ponds were reshaped with heavy equipment prior to planting sorghum-Sudan grass forage during the de-watered phase of the culture cycle. Five non-renovated ponds served as a control. The mean total length (TL) of the crayfish harvested from renovated ponds was significantly larger than those crayfish harvested from non-renovated ponds. The renovated pond harvest contained an estimated 43.2% carryover crayfish (>95 mm TL) in comparison to 7.6% in the harvest from non-renovated ponds. By weight, carryover crayfish constituted an estimated 69.3% of the harvest from renovated ponds, compared to 21.0% from non-renovated ponds. No difference was observed in the harvest between treatments; however, the low proportion of young-of-the-year crayfish in the renovated pond harvest may adversely impact future production.

Key Words:

• White river crayfish
• Procambarus acutus acutus
• pond renovation
• crayfish culture
• production