Mississippi-Arkansas Delta commercial catfish production: A quantitative analysis focused on individual production units

Producers have become more adept at using computers as management tools for catfish production over the past decade. This study analyzed production management data and estimated production parameters on catfish ponds in the Mississippi-Arkansas Delta. Producers who utilized FISHY were contacted to request copies of their databases. These records were examined to generate background information and calculate production averages on 1996 data. The total water acres studied was 7,315.;The calculated background information included the number of food fish and fingerling acres, the average stocking weights and densities, and the amount of feed fed. Mortality was estimated and observed to be higher than what most producers predict. The production parameters that were estimated include feed conversion ratios, average daily gain, pounds of harvested fish produced, and days needed to produce harvested fish. Fish stocked at higher weights performed slightly better than smaller fish. The production averages from this study were compared to those of a current cost analysis to assess their impact on the estimated production costs. The findings show that costs were similar.