Alabama (AL) ranks second in food-size catfish production, accounting for 26% of the total catfish sales in the U.S. in 2021. Most commercial food-size catfish production in AL is in earthen ponds in seven western counties (Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, and Sumter). Catfish production faces serious challenges such as high feed prices, disease, competition from international markets, and big fish (not accepted by fish processors or accepted at a reduced price). Identifying basic descriptors (such as county, farm area, pond size and number, stocking rate, breed cultured, production, type of feed utilized, protein content of feed, and aeration rate) of the catfish industry provides crucial epidemiological, etiological, and pathological tools. The objectives of this study were to quantify the production area and determine basic descriptors of the AL catfish industry both statewide and at the county level. The Alabama Fish Farming Center conducted annual surveys of all commercial catfish producers in AL during 2015–2021 by mail and/or telephone interviews to achieve these objectives.
Across the study (2015–2021), the annual number of survey respondents ranged from 64–74, with a total of 482 respondents. The yearly survey response rate ranged from 95.6–100% (mean: 98.2%). The annual survey coverage area ranged from 6,410–7,006 ha/year. The majority of reported catfish breed produced was channel only (61.3%), followed by channel and hybrid (30.5%), and hybrid only (8.2%; Fig. 1). Average aeration rates ranged between 2.8 and 18.4 kW/ha (mean ± SE = 7.8 ± 0.25 kW/ha) and was higher in farms producing hybrid only (9.6 ± 0.51 kW/ha) as compared to farms producing channel only (6.7 ± 0.29 kW/ha). Pickens county reported the highest average aeration rate (12.2 ± 1.57 kW/ha) and the highest percentage (84.6%) of farm operations producing hybrid catfish only. The present study provides the first comprehensive assessment of primary descriptors of the farm-raised catfish industry in the freshwater pond environment for a substantial duration.