This study evaluates cost structures and production constraints in marine finfish hatchery operations across southern U.S. states, highlighting critical bottlenecks for commercial viability. Financial modeling of 100 scenarios revealed that the nursery/fingerling stage represents the largest cost component, underscoring the importance of strategies such as stocking larger fingerlings into growout systems, which in other sectors of aquaculture have been shown to improve survival and reduce overall costs. For Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), modeled scenarios were unprofitable at current production densities; achieving economic feasibility requires substantial increases in yield (kg/m³)—three to six times higher than values commonly reported in research literature. These findings indicate a significant gap between experimental performance and commercial requirements. We emphasize the urgent need for production trials that replicate commercial growout conditions, including ponds of at least 0.10 ha and tanks large enough to simulate water quality and biomass dynamics typical of commercial facilities. Trials must balance scalability with statistical rigor by identifying tank sizes that are small enough for replication yet large enough to produce realistic metrics such as yield, FCR, and survival. Addressing these research priorities is essential to generate actionable, science-based guidance for industry adoption and improve economic sustainability in marine finfish aquaculture.