Home > Crops & Livestock > Aquaculture > Catfish > Production > 2007 Projected Louisiana Crawfish and Catfish Production Costs [Image: 2007 Aquaculture Budgets] This report presents estimates of projected costs for crawfish and catfish production in Louisiana for 2007. Catfish Production Economics [Image: Crawfish Production Economics] The commercial production of catfish in the United States has increased at a phenomenal rate in the last three decades. By 1997, channel catfish culture was the largest aquaculture industry in the United States, with catfish production representing 72 percent (by weight) and 55 percent (by value) of the entire industry (U.S. Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture 1999). Production of Hybrid Catfish [Image: Production of Hybrid Catfish] The mating or crossing of two different species is a process called hybridization, with the offspring known as hybrids. Breeding hybrids with selected or favored characteristics of each parent is one of the goals of animal husbandry. Of all these interspecific catfish hybrids, only one hybrid has characteristics that would favor commercial application. That hybrid is the channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) x blue catfish (I. furcatus) hybrid (denoted as the CxB hybrid). Construction of Levee Ponds for Commercial Catfish Production [Image: Construction of Levee-Type Commercial] Proper design and construction of ponds is critical to the success of a commercial catfish operation. Well-designed ponds, constructed on soil with proper clay content and adequate water supply, have a useful life of at least 10 years.  more articles... Site Selection of Levee-Type Fish Production Ponds [Image: Site Selection of Levee-Type Fish Production Ponds] Considerable thought and planning should go into selecting sites for commercial fish production ponds. Construction costs, ease and cost of operation, and productivity can be greatly affected by the site selected. Watershed Fish Production Ponds: Guide to Site Selection and Construction [Image: Watershed Fish Production Ponds] To be profitable, an aquaculture pond must be sited properly and designed for efficiency. An inaccessible location, leaks in the pond, poor seining conditions, or lack of good quality water will doom an aquaculture enterprise to failure. 'Scarecrow-boats' Frighten Birds From Ponds [Image: hroughout much of the South, birds such as cormorants] To reduce losses caused by hungry birds, aquaculture farmers spend as much as $100,000 a year on abatement programs. Now, two LSU AgCenter agricultural engineers have developed robotic boats to keep these predators out of commercial ponds. Hatchery and Fry Pond Issues Although many catfish producers rely on commercial hatcheries for fingerlings, onsite fingerling production is an important part of many operations. The tips below address channel catfish fry production in the hatchery and managing ponds for rearing fry into fingerlings.