Marine fish aquaculture is rapidly expanding worldwide, with Latin America playing an increasingly important role in the blue economy. The white snook (Centropomus viridis), native to the Pacific coast from Mexico to Peru, has emerged as a promising candidate for cultivation due to its fast growth, excellent flesh quality, and market demand. Farming this species offers a sustainable and profitable alternative to wild harvest. A team in Mexico is developing an aquaculture technology in earthen ponds with white snook. The objective of this communication is to share with the industry practical feedback on Snook production using open systems with existing inland infrastructure.
A 400-day cycle batch has been monitored over parameters followed throughout the cycle: stocking density, feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, survival rate, and economics, further analysis includes gut histology and body composition.
Through this first production cycle, fish consumed 3,60kg of feed for a final average weight of 2,25kg (± 0,71kg). Average weight gain was 4,20g (±2.2g) and feed conversion ratio was of 1.8 which was considered as acceptable for a first batch of production. The survival rate was also acceptable as it reached 75% after 13 months in the ponds.
The objective of this commercial assay was to observe the behavior trends of the fish, and the impact of their growth under brackish water of 5 ppt salinity, a 400-day cycle with temperature fluctuations and oxygen variation and feed performance with the use of domestic feeds.
Health conditions were also monitored over 6,000 fish, gut observations and parasite presence as well bacterial infections was found, further work will be include developing new nutrition packages, market development and prophylactics, to ensure long-term sustainability
This species has a potential to develop new aquaculture opportunities for the America region and develop inland mariculture.