A PILOT AQUACULTURE AND STOCK ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE RED SNAPPER IN MISSISSIPPI

The red snapper Lutjanus campechanus is a major commercial and recreational fishery in the Southeast United states. Harvests by recreational fisheries in federal waters are severely restricted as part of the on-going rebuilding plan for wild stocks.  Aquaculture could contribute to supply the food market for this species and also to increase recruitment of harvest-size red snapper on reef habitats in a stock enhancement program. A pilot stocking program was initiated in Mississippi in collaboration between the University of Southern Mississippi and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) in the late 1990s. Objectives of the project include developing the production of juveniles in intensive systems and evaluating the potential for stocking hatchery-reared red snapper on artificial reefs deployed in Mississippi coastal waters by the artificial reef bureau of MDMR. The production of juveniles is currently limited by the unpredictable spawning activity of captive broodstock, the frequent occurrence of unfertile spawns, and the low survival rates through the larval phase. Egg production currently relies on the induction of ovulation and spermiation in wild-caught mature brooders using chorionic gonadotropin which leads to variable egg quality and viability of hatched larvae to first feeding. To date, the culture of red snapper larvae has been successful when copepod nauplii were provided as an initial feed. Survival rates through the larval culture phase remain relatively low (<10% in most trials). Current research focuses on evaluating feeding protocols incorporating the results of larval nutrition studies to improve survival and expanding the production capacity for copepod live feeds. Tagged hatchery juveniles released on artificial fish are monitored through trapping. A pilot acoustic tagging study on a near-shore reef in the Mississippi sound showed promising results with retention of some of the released specimens exceeding five months. A genetic program is in development and aims to assist with the spatial management of releases through studies of population structure and local adaptation of regional populations and the monitoring of releases through genetic tagging.