THE STATUS OF RED DRUM Sciaenops ocellatus AS A COMMERCIALLY READY SPECIES FOR MARINE U.S. AQUACULTURE

Red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, is a commercially produced marine finfish species with global production in Taiwan, China, Israel, Martinique, Mexico, Bahamas, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, and the United States. In the U.S., red drum are currently commercially cultured in Texas, Florida, South Carolina, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with the majority (>85%) of production occurring within Texas. Broodstock management, reproductive biology, feeding behaviors and dietary requirements, growth and production requirements, and disease management are relatively well known for red drum compared to other candidate marine aquaculture species. Despite being commercially produced for more than 30 years, few red drum have been reared to maturity for use as broodstock and these individuals represent less than 5% of broodstock inventory for the industry. The majority of red drum broodstock in current use in the US were captured from the wild. Captive broodstock development and genetic improvement are major areas of research that could be undertaken to remove impediments of further industry expansion. Red drum reproduction methods have shifted from natural maturation in ponds and manual (strip) spawning to controlled photothermal conditioning, with or without the use of maturation hormones. Current photothermal conditioning methods utilize a 120- to 150-day cycle in which the natural seasons of a full year are condensed to within the allocated maturation cycle. These methods are extremely effective for reproducing red drum, allowing spawning to be accomplished on demand throughout much of the year using the same set of broodfish compared to a 2-3 month egg production period during the autumn under natural conditions. Most red drum production facilities operate their own hatcheries and typically produce only what is needed to supply the culture facility with little inventory left to supply producers or facilities that do not have the technical expertise or equipment necessary to operate a hatchery. Only a few hatcheries produce an excess of larvae for sale to grow out only facilities, which greatly limits the ability of the industry to expand in the U.S.   Methods of production of juveniles to foodfish market size are well known. Outdoor pond production systems for grow out to foodfish size dominate the domestic an international industries for this species. The market size of red drum has shifted over time from 0.7 kg to a desired market size of approximately 1.4 kg at the time of harvest. To achieve these harvest weights, a 16 to 24 moth production cycle is required dependent upon mean temperature at the culture location. Best growth is achieved when using a starter diet for juveniles consisting of 50-55% protein and 15-17% lipid and quickly transitioning to a 44-45% protein, 13-16% lipid diet for foodfish grow out. Some producers Decrease to a 40% protein, 13-16% lipid finishing diet for the last few months of production for larger fish. Red drum currently achieves U.S.$7.00-$7.70/kg live weight at harvest. With the continued ban of commercial harvest of red drum from the Gulf of Mexico since the 1980s, many restaurants that serve traditional "redfish" dishes report shortages in availability indicating room for market growth.