COMMERCIAL RESEARCH DEMONSTRATOIN TRIALS (2015-2017) USING IN-POND RACEWAY SYSTEMS TO INVESTIGATE FISH DISEASES ON CATFISH FARMS IN WEST ALABAMA

Jesse James*, Terrill R. Hanson, Jeffery S. Terhune, Jesse A. Chappell, Mark R. Liles, Charles Thurlow, Cova R. Arias, Benjamin H. Beck, Benjamin R. LaFrentz, Eric Peatman, Peter Merrill, Lisa B. Bott, Esau Arana, William Hemstreet, Sunni Dahl, Luke A. Roy
 School of Fisheries, Aquaculture & Aquatic Sciences
 Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849
 Jbj0023@auburn.edu
 

The Alabama catfish industry is an important agriculture sector in the state of Alabama. Currently there are 85 commercial catfish farms on 17,500 water acres primarily located in seven counties in west Alabama. Mortality due to disease represents a substantial financial loss to Alabama catfish producers. In 2016, the primary sources of fish kills on Alabama catfish farms were virulent Aeromonas hydrophila (vAh), Flavobacterium columnare, Edwardsiella ictaluri, and toxic algae releases and represent a $12.3 million annual loss to producers. In order to investigate different approaches to reducing disease losses on commercial farms, a collaborative effort between commercial farmers, industry, and Auburn University was devised using in-pond raceway systems (IPRS) deployed as research/demonstration production units on a commercial farm in west Alabama. In 2015, three IPRS were constructed and placed into three separate catfish ponds on a commercial catfish farm in Alabama. Each IPRS was comprised of 16 individual raceway cells (256 ft3) and were supplied with flow and aeration via a regenerative blower (1.5 HP). Each year, fish were stocked (1000 - 1350 fish per cell) in the late Spring and harvested in the Fall. Prior to stocking, catfish were vaccinated. Fish were fed (32% protein commercial feed) according to established feeding protocols twice per day on a daily basis. Water quality was monitored throughout the trial (dissolved oxygen, temperature on a daily basis; total ammonia nitrogen, total nitrite nitrogen, and pH) on a weekly basis.  The Fish Health Diagnostician at the Alabama Fish Farming Center monitored fish health routinely. Mortality was tracked on a daily basis. Experimental treatments are presented in Table 1.  At the end of the trial, raceway cells were harvested to determine survival, average weight, and food conversion ratio.  Results from all three years of production will be discussed.