The nonaquaculture bait minnow industry of the Great Lakes is 

 described, and methods for increasing the harvest are 

 demonstrated by results of exploratory bait fishing activities 

 completed by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. Nets, 

 equipment, and gear are described, and improved harvesting 

 methods are recommended as a means of increasing supplies during 

 summer when sport fish demand is at a peak. Harvesting has been 

 from shallow Great Lakes waters, but substantial stocks are 

 available during the summer in deeper, offshore waters if proper 

 harvesting techniques are applied. Such harvesting would help 

 satisfy the demand now being partially met by hauling 

 commercially cultured bait minnows for great distances to the 

 Great Lakes area. 

 Subject descriptors: 

 Minnows; baitfish; natural-stock production. 



148 



Herrick, Samuel F., Jr.; Baldwin, Wayne, J. 



1975. 



The commercial production of topminnows--a preliminary economic 



analysis . 



Univ. Hawaii, Sea Grant Rep. UNIHI-SEAGRANT-Afi-75-02, 18 pp. 



Based on techniques developed by the Hawaii Institute of Marine 



Biology, the possible commercial production of topminnows 



(Poecilia vittata) as an alternative to the use of Nehu 



(Stolephorus purpureus) for live bait in the skipjack tuna 



fishery is analysed. Topics include water quality, production 



processes, biology, facility design and economic analysis. 



Capital and operating costs are itemized, and other information 



is presented in the context of the net present value analysis of 



three levels of output, 3,000, 30,000 and 60,000 buckets of 



topminnows per year (each bucket containing about 6 pounds or 



about 3,000 topminnows). The largest two levels of operation 



were judged profitable at discount rates of 10, 20 and 30%, but 



the smallest, only at 10%, assuming a 20-year period of 



operation. Because of the preliminary nature of the data used, 



the authors recommend further investigation. 



Subject descriptors: 



Topminnows; revenue; costs; returns; economic feasibility. 



149 



Hudson, Stanton. 



1974. 



Minnow farming, an American enterprise, then-now-and the future. 



Catfish Farmer World Aquacult. News 6 (1): 31, 32, 37, and 38. 



Expanding recreational demand and fishing area, and decreasing 



wild harvests led to the increasing demand for farm-raised 



minnows. Yet, there are several risks and problems. The market 



is seasonal, with sales concentrated in the summer, demand 



fluctuates from year to year, and droughts or floods, which 



affect recreational lakes, shift demand among locations. Chronic 



68 



