UNC Sea Grant 

 7- /d/^ 



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1^, C» June/July, 1985 



(xusT Swatch 



Photo by Doug Voder 



Technician Tom Blevins squeezes ripe e^gs from a female striped bass 



Aquaculture 



Shrimp, catfish and mussels — 

 they're often harvested from the 

 wild, but they have cultured coun- 

 terparts. Fish farmers, or aquacul- 

 turists, nurture these species from 

 egg or larvae much like the farmer 

 raises a crop from seed. 



The aquaculturist tends pools 

 and ponds just as a farmer tends 

 fields and livestock. Daily, the fish 

 are fed and the oxygen content of 

 the water monitored. When the 

 fish reach optimum size, they are 

 harvested. 



Why go to all the trouble? In 

 some cases, natural stocks are 

 dwindling. Worldwide, most 

 species are fished to maximum 

 levels. The bottom line: There's 

 too much demand and not enough 

 supply. 



Aquaculture alleviates some of 

 these problems. It provides a con- 

 sistent quality and steady supply 

 of these species. 



Already North Carolina has a 

 flourishing aquaculture industry. 

 In 1984, this state was the second 

 largest producer of rainbow trout 

 in the nation. 



But Sea Grant researchers think 

 there is an even more promising 

 culture candidate. The striped bass 

 hybrid offers culturists a hardy, 

 fast-growing culture species. 



This month, Coastwatch 

 examines the culture of striped 

 bass hybrids. 



