AQUACULTURE AWARENESS 



white bass. 



By using the GnRHa 

 hormone, Sullivan and 

 Hodson can synchronize the 

 spawning of the male white 

 bass and female stripers. 

 And better still, the females 

 produce viable eggs ready 

 for fertilization. 



The Sea Grant scientists 

 are excited about their 

 breakthrough because now 

 they feel certain that 

 hatcheries can produce a 

 more consistent and larger 

 supply of fingerlings to a 

 hybrid bass industry that 

 could be producing 10 

 million pounds of fish by 

 the turn of the century. And 

 the discovery holds promise 

 for a step Hodson has been 

 awaiting since he began his 

 striped bass work: domesti- 

 cation of a broodstock. 



Don't think for a 

 moment that this one 

 accomplishment has Hodson 

 and Sullivan sitting back on 

 their heels. Quite the 

 contrary. 



The researchers are hard at work 

 testing other ways to manipulate the 

 striper's reproductive cycle. 



Sullivan points to a series of charts 

 on his laboratory wall to show the 

 team's latest work on manipulating the 

 fish with light and temperature. 



"By changing the water tempera- 

 ture and light cycle, you can change 

 the time the fish spawns," Sullivan 

 says. "We have been able to spawn the 

 fish in six-, nine- and twelve-month 

 cycles." 



Sullivan admits that spawning 

 female stripers every six months may 

 be too much for the females to bear. 

 However, it may be feasible to spawn 

 them as often as every nine months. 



Jeannie Faris 



Craig Sullivan prepares hormone pellets. 



Ron Hodson checks striper eggs with microscope. 



§ROM THE BEGINNING 

 OF THEIR SCIENTIFIC 

 PARTNERSHIP IN 1988, 

 HODSON AND SULLIVAN 

 WERE DETERMINED TO 

 ENSURE THE DEVELOPMENT 

 AND GROWTH OF A HYBRID 

 BASS AQUACULTURE 

 INDUSTRY. THEY WANTED 

 TO SPUR FARMERS TO 

 FORSAKE THE PLOW FOR 

 THE POND AND PLACE 

 THE HYBRID ALONGSIDE 

 CATFISH AND TROUT IN 

 ACRES OF U-S- PRODUCTION* 



C.R. Edgerton 



And with the kind of 

 controls developed by the 

 duo, aquaculturists may soon 

 be spawning striped bass and 

 white bass year-round. 



"We used to wait all year 

 for that twelve-week period 

 in the spring when the fish 

 spawned," Sullivan says. 

 "And then with each female 

 striper, we only had a 

 fifteen-minute window of 

 spawning opportunity. 



"Now we're capable of 

 spawning the fish year- 

 round, and I'm waiting for 

 the day when I can drive into 

 McDonald's for a 'Mc- 

 Rockfish' sandwich," he 

 says. 



"No, don't say that," 

 Hodson says from across the 

 room. "I hope hybrid bass 

 are never so cheap that we 

 see them in McDonald's." 



Hodson envisions the 

 hybrid as a high quality, 

 gourmet fish fit for tables in 

 upscale restaurants like 

 Tavern on the Green in New 

 York or Brennans in New Orleans. 



But restaurants, fast food or 

 gourmet, aren't a big concern for the 

 Sea Grant scientists. Hodson and 

 Sullivan are busy transferring their 

 technology to hybrid bass growers 

 throughout the Southeast. 



So far, the team has worked with 

 fish farmers in North Carolina, South 

 Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland 

 and Arkansas. And the researchers 

 have extended their findings to foreign 

 audiences in France, England, Scotland 

 and Italy. Even Japanese scientists, 

 who are considered among the world's 

 leading aquaculture experts, have 

 visited Sullivan's NCSU lab and the 

 Pamlico facility to glean information 

 from this scientific odd couple. □ 



16 MAY/JUNE 1993 



