THE STATUS OF FLORIDA POMPANO Trachinotus carolinus AS A COMMERCIALLY READY SPECIES FOR MARINE U.S. AQUACULTURE

Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus, are native to coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Brazil and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. The species is especially common along the Florida coasts to North Carolina. A high-value carangid, pompano has been historically prized by both recreational and commercial fishermen. In 2016, the average dockside price of wild-caught whole Florida pompano was over US$9 per kilogram, with farm raised whole fish currently fetching from up to $22-$26/kg wholesale and from $35-$44/kg retail.

Because of their superior market value, coupled with a limited supply due to small and unpredictable commercial landings, in the 1960s and 1970s researchers began investigating the potential of Florida pompano for aquaculture. Although a number of studies and trials were conducted during this era; reliable hatchery, nursery, and growout methods were not established. However, beginning in the late 1990s a renewed interest in pompano as a candidate for aquaculture arose which was fueled by advances made with respect to other marine finfish species in the areas of captive reproduction, larval rearing methods, and diet development for nursery and growout phases. Over the last two decades, through the efforts of a number of public and private entities, protocols have been developed that have allowed commercialization of pompano aquaculture to be realized.

Florida pompano broodstock can be readily conditioned to spawn (26-28 C) and to produce large numbers of fertilized eggs multiple times throughout the year via hormonally-induced volitional tank spawning. Larval rearing is fairly straight forward using a standard feeding regime of rotifers, then Artemia, followed by co-feeding and weaning to microparticulate diets with metamorphosis occurring at approximately 18-25 days post hatch. Pompano readily consume formulated pelleted diets (floating, sinking, and slow-sinking) and growout of juveniles to produce market ready fish (0.5-0.7 kg) is fairly rapid (< 12 months) and has been achieved mainly via RAS and flow-through tank based systems, and ocean net pens.

At present, pompano juveniles and marketable fish are being produced by a small number of US based commercial ventures with operations in Florida and Central America. To expand the success of these existing businesses as well as to ensure sustainable industry development, there is an ongoing need for research directed towards topics including:

l Domesticated broodstock development, selective breeding, and genetic improvement l Diet development and refinement for growout l Disease management strategies l Economics and business planning l Marketing strategies