control diseases and off-flavor will continue 

 to help boost the growth of this industry. Be- 

 tween 1975-1991, catfish production in- 

 creased more than 2,400 percent, transform- 

 ing the catfish industry into a major force in 

 the domestic seafood market. Since 1991, 

 production has continued to grow, with an 

 expansion in 1992 of almost 20 percent. Mis- 

 sissippi is the focal point of the U.S. catfish 

 industry and accounted for over 70 percent of 

 total sales. 



In 1992, catfish sales to processing plants to- 

 taled 457.4 million pounds, a jump of 17 per- 

 cent from the previous year. In the first quar- 

 ter alone, over 120 million pounds were 

 processed, more than was processed in all of 

 1982. The large increase in sales can be at- 

 tributed chiefly to low farm-level from the 

 end of 1991 through the first half of 1992, as 

 growers worked off excess inventories. Much 

 of the decline in the farm-level price was 

 passed through in the form of lower whole- 

 sale prices, which in turn spurred higher sales. 



Farm-level catfish prices fell five percent to 

 average just under 60 cents a pound for 1992- 

 the lowest aimual average since 1982. How- 

 ever, prices began to strengthen in the second 

 half of the year. Farm prices should continue 

 to move upward during 1993 in response to 

 lower available supplies. 



As of January 1, 1993, results of a National 

 Agricultiu^al Statistics Service (NASS) grow- 

 er survey reported that there were 1,527 cat- 

 fish growers in the United States. The area 

 used in catfish ponds was 151,860 acres. The 

 states of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and 

 Louisiana account for over 90 percent of this 

 acreage. 



Crawfish . Crawfish are found naturally 

 throughout the continental United States, 

 but are currently commercially grown in only 



a few states. The red swamp crawfish, Pro- 

 cambarus clarldi, and the white river crawfish, 

 Procambarus acutus acutm, are two species of 

 commercial importance in the United States. 

 The red swamp crawfish is the primary spec- 

 ies cultured because it produces more consis- 

 tent yields and is more valued in international 

 and southern United States markets. In the 

 southern United States, there are more than 

 140,000 acres of crawfish ponds. Most of the 

 acreage is in southern Louisiana with a small 

 producfion area in southeastern Texas. Pro- 

 duction averages 500 pounds per acre but can 

 reach around 4,000 pounds per acre. From 

 1988 to 1990, crawfish production rose from 

 62.9 million pounds to 70.7 million. Growers' 

 sales in 1990 were valued at $34 million. Dur- 

 ing 1992, the crawfish industry exported 7.3 

 million pounds, 13 percent more than in 1991. 

 The exports were valued at $14.8 million. 



Hybrid Striped Bass . Although the govern- 

 ment does not provide production statistics 

 for hybrid striped bass (HSB), the Striped 

 Bass Growers' Association (SBGA) estimat- 

 ed U.S. production to be 1.4 million pounds 

 (live-weight) in 1990 and 3.4-3.7 million 

 pounds in 1991. Production estimates for 

 1992 are higher at approximately five million 

 pounds. The most commonly cultured HSB 

 is a cross between a female striped bass {Mor- 

 one saxatilis) and a male white bass {Morone 

 chrysops). 



As production continues to grow, there is a 

 concomitant need to develop new markets 

 throughout the United States beyond the tra- 

 ditional northeastern whole fish markets to 

 avoid a dechne in food market prices. There 

 is no direct competition from production in 

 foreign countries, which currently have no 

 ready markets. The small size of the wild 

 catch of striped bass has helped support the 

 cominued growth of the hybrid striped bass 

 industry. 



