050 



McCoy, E. W. ; Ruzic, J. E. 



1973. 



Raise catfish for fun and profit--or neither. 



Auburn Univ., Agri. Exp. Sta., Highlights Agri . Res., 20(1): 8. 



With growing demand for recreation and the remoteness of many 



previously used sites from urban population centers, special 



complexes and facilities are being built, including public 



fishout ponds. Ponds with catfish increased from 50 in 1965 to 



700 in 1970 in Alabama, meaning a shift to catfish, since bass 



and bream were once the leading kinds of fish stocked. Net 



return to land, labor and management is higher for the ponds 



fished for a short while, after which they are drained and the 



remaining fish are commercially harvested. Where recreational 



fishout is the only harvesting device, this net return is lower 



per acre. It is higher per pound harvested, but fewer pounds are 



harvested. Other factors affecting profits and losses, and 



operator satisfaction are discussed. 



Subject descriptors: 



Catfish; recreation; fee fishing; revenue; costs; returns. 



051 



Madewell, Carl E. 



1971. 



Economic and related considerations before entering or expanding 



a commercial catfish or trout farming operation. 



Paper presented to Fish Farming Conference, Nov. 4, 1971, 



Montgomery Bell State Park, Burns, Tenn. T.V.A., 20 pp. 



Pre-investment considerations, and some production and marketing 



challenges are discussed. The former include legal, 



environmental, technical, marketing, financial, assistance 



sources, management, and economic factors. An expanding market 



is foreseen, for which trout and catfish Doth have suitable 



characteristics, but some processing problems existed in 1970 



(location, seasonally excess capacity and other problems). 



Initial investment, annual costs and returns, and net return may 



be compared economically with similar measures for other farm 



enterprises; such data are shown for catfisn ponds, and catfish 



and trout raceways. Comparisons for a limited number of Alabama 



producers indicate that net returns to land, labor, and 



management for catfish egual or exceed returns for peanuts, 



cotton, and soybeans (Yeager, 1971) . Improvements in technology, 



efficiency, product, and competitive ability are among the 



industry challenges, as suggested in part Dy a comparison of 



farmer-to-consumer prices and expenses for catfish, trout, and 



pork. 



Subject descriptors: 



Catfish; trout; revenue; costs; returns; forecasts; outlook. 



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