produced over 45,000 tons of high- 

 priced salmon. And Canadian salmon 

 farmers weren't far behind in their 

 production of the pink-fleshed 

 gourmet fish. 



For Asian and Latin American 

 aquaculturists, shrimp is the crop 

 they're cashing in on. In Third-World 

 country Ecuador, the shrimp culture 

 industry has provided over 150,000 

 jobs and $250 million in foreign ex- 

 change funds. 



In the United States, aquaculture is 

 in its infancy. Experts estimate that 

 the business of fish farming con- 

 tributes between 6 and 12 percent to 

 total fishery production. 



Presently most of that production 

 (86 percent) is in freshwater species. 



The Mississippi landscape glitters 

 from the sun's reflection off acre after 

 acre of catfish ponds. T\venty-five 

 years ago, those ponds were as non- 

 existent as the catfish industry. 



But today, catfish farming is the na- 

 tion's aquaculture success story. It ac- 

 counts for over 50 percent of the U.S. 

 cultured production. 



But catfish may not be the aquacul- 

 ture kingpin for long. 



The production of other species is 

 growing rapidly, and still more species 

 are being readied. 



Crawfish, for instance, used to be 

 something only true Lx)uisianians ate. 

 But with the popularity of Cajun 

 cooking, crawfish have become a hot 

 culinary ingredient. 



So hot in fact, that Louisiana 

 aquaculturists are devoting 130,000 

 acres to the red-bodied crustaceans, 

 and South Carolina plantation owners 

 are converting abandoned rice 

 paddies into crawfish ponds. 



But whether it's catfish or crawfish, 

 the aquaculture industry needed 

 research to get its fish into ponds. In 



These Scottish fish farmers harvest Atlantic 

 salmon from floating net pens 



the case of marine and coastal 

 species. Sea Grant has provided much 

 of the research support. 



Sea Grant scientists spurred the 

 production of blue mussels in Maine, 

 redfish in Texas, crawfish in Loui- 

 siana, salmon in the Northwest and 

 prawns in Hawaii. 



Texas A&M University Sea Grant 

 researchers are perfecting the culture 

 of the nation's most valuable crop- 

 shrimp. Meanwhile, Washington and 

 Maine Sea Grant scientists "neutered" 

 cultured oysters to keep them plump 

 and firm year-round. 



And Sea Grant scientists in North 

 Carolina, South Carolina and 

 Maryland collaborated on a culture 

 scheme for hybrid striped bass— 

 aquaculture's rising star in the T^r 

 Heel state. 



So far, trout farming, limited to the 

 mountain area, has been the most 

 significant aquaculture industry in 

 North Carolina. 



North Carolina ranks a distant 

 second to Idaho in trout production 

 in the United States. Economists 

 estimate that trout farming generates 

 almost $8 million for T^r Heel 

 growers, a figure that is expected to 

 double in the next few years. 



Otherwise the state's aquaculture ef 

 forts have been limited to a few catfish 

 farms, bait minnow operations and 

 clam "gardens" on private bottom 

 leases. 



But with plenty of suitable land and 

 water resources, the hybrid striped 

 bass looms big in North Carolina's 

 future. The white-fleshed, good eatin' 



fish could be the answer to more than 

 one farmer's prayer. 



Sea Grant spent nine years refining 

 the hybrid's culture. Now it's ready for 

 commercial production (see story, 

 page 4). 



The hybrid and other cultured 

 species got a boost this summer when 

 the N.C. General Assembly ap- 

 propriated $400,000 for aquaculture 

 development and extension at North 

 Carolina State University. 



North Carolina and other states 

 realize the potential aquaculture offers 

 for economic development. Already, 

 big corporations such as Ralston 

 Purina, Campbell Soup and 

 Weyerhauser are gambling on the in- 

 dustry's bright future. 



So the chances are high and in- 

 creasing that the next steamed 

 oysters, boiled crawfish or pan-fried 

 trout you slide into your mouth will 

 be pond-raised and home-grown. 



