TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE’S SOUTHERN FLOUNDER Paralichthys lethostigma 2017 CULTURE PRODUCTION UPDATE

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department dedicated to conserving the natural resources of the state and managing those natural resources for sustainable usage while providing fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreational opportunities to the public. Stock enhancement of fish, vital to maintaining sustainable populations in the face of fishing pressure, habitat degradation, and other issues, is a primary goal of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Stock enhancement efforts involve red drum, spotted seatrout, and southern flounder. Southern flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma, have been cultured for stock enhancement purposes at Texas Parks and Wildlife Coastal Conservation Association (TPWD CCA) Marine Development Center in Corpus Christi, Texas for several years, with updates on culture practices frequently occurring. Improving culture methods may collectively improve growth and survival of cultured southern flounder for stock enhancement.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Coastal Fisheries resource monitoring data indicates that southern flounder populations have been in steady decline along the Texas coast for many years.  As a means to supplement southern flounder populations, Coastal Fisheries has initiated a propagation program for purposes of stock enhancement. Methods to rear southern flounder on a large-scale hatchery basis are still in the early stages of development. Additional facilities to culture flounder are in planning stages and scheduled for construction initiation in late 2017. The new facilities will extend the production season for this species from the current four months to at least eight months per year, and incorporate flounder culture advances into routine hatchery operations. To date, 378,091 hatchery-reared southern flounder fingerlings have been stocked into Texas coastal waters since 2006 (Figure).

This presentation will describe current practices, production, and future goals for southern flounder culture at the TPWD CCA Marine Development Center.