administrative, and economic. The constraints include 

 competition for land and water areas and markets, regulations on 

 Federal, State, territorial, and local levels, inadequate transfer 

 of information and technical assistance, and uncertainty about 

 profitability. Coordinated and successful action to overcome these 

 barriers has been lacking. Major impediments are detailed in 

 Chapter 3 and the individual species plans presented in Volume II. 



In spite of these barriers, private aquaculture accounts for a 

 significant portion of the supply of some species in the U.S. 

 (Table 2) . Private aquaculture produces over 40 percent of our 

 oysters, most of our catfish and crawfish, nearly all of our 

 rainbow trout, and small quantities of several other species. 

 Total harvest of edible fish and shellfish in 1982 was 1,500,000 

 metric tons (3.3 billion pounds), of which about 179,500 metric 

 tons (395 million pounds), or about 11 percent of the total, was 

 produced by aquaculture. 



Emphasis in the U.S. private aquaculture sector has been on the 

 culture of high-value species, with little commercial activity on 

 the culture of low-cost fishes such as carp, buffalofish, tilapia, 

 or mullet. However, these species are of considerable interest to 

 the U.S. territories. Some experimental studies are being 

 conducted by Federal, State, university, and private concerns on 

 the culture of these and other species. 



In addition to private aquaculture in the U.S., Federal and State 

 governments have extensive hatchery programs for the production and 

 stocking of fingerlings in lakes and streams. Benefits of these 

 programs are enjoyed by both commercial and recreational fishermen. 

 Species produced include Pacific salmon (pink, chum, sockeye, coho , 

 and chinook) , Atlantic salmon, steelhead trout, several species of 

 sunfish, striped bass, channel catfish, largemouth and smallmouth 

 bass, northern pike, muskellunge, walleye, and eight species of 

 nonanadromous salmonids. Public releases involve massive 

 numbers of fry, fingerlings, and catchable-size fish from Federal 

 and State hatcheries. For example, 620 million small salmon and 

 steelhead trout were released on the Pacific Coast in 1982, 6 

 million largemouth bass fingerlings were released in ponds and 

 reservoirs in 1982, and 40 million striped bass fingerlings were 

 released in reservoirs and coastal rivers in 1982. The current 



National Research Council. Committee on Aquaculture. 

 1978. Aquaculture in the United States: constraints and 

 opportunities: a report of the Committee on Aquaculture, Board on 

 Agriculture and Renewable Resources, Commission on Natural 

 Resources, National Research Council. National Academy of 

 Sciences, Washington, DC. 123 p. 



