Production Economic Analysis of Black Sea Bass Juveniles to Support Finfish Mariculture Growout Industry Development in the Southeastern United States

Abstract

& A pilot-scale finfish mariculture hatchery was established at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In 2011, research-based hatchery protocols were scaled up to produce 37,000 advanced (1-5 g) black sea bass fingerlings. Based on engineering, biological, and cost data from operating the pilot hatchery, an economic analysis of a hypothetical commercial scale black sea bass hatchery operation was conducted. The financial performance of two alternative facilities that produce 97,200 5-g and 388,800 1-g fingerlings per year over a 30-year project life showed cumulative net present value (NPV) of $445,000, and $3,168,000, modified internal rates of return (MIRR) of 6.52% and 10.52%, and per unit breakeven prices of $1.67 and $0.47, respectively. Sensitivity analyses showed that final stocking density was critical to financial performance. Fingerlings were supplied to startup growers in NC and in VA, and market-size fish from these growout facilities were distributed (live or whole on ice) to premium-value markets on the eastern seaboard. This pilot hatchery is enabling new farmers to access fingerlings, establish growout technology and understand market value and demand.

To what extent can maternal inherited immunity acquired from a crustacean‐enhanced diet improve the performance and vitality of the offspring and enhance profitability of European Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)?

“…There has been no increase in the total variable cost and the total production cost for the three tested treatments under both scenarios. The cost of dry maturation diet to the total variable cost varied between 0.2 and 0.3% in the present study compared with 1.15% obtained by Watanabe, Dumas, Carroll, and Resimius () for black sea bass. The production cost per thousand sea bass fingerlings decreased significantly for PSD and ASD groups compared with the BD, although the total production cost for all LRTs was very close.…”

“…The ratio of variable cost to the total production costs obtained from the present study was around 57%, compared with 91.2% for European sea bass (Zacchino et al, ), 82.5% for black sea bass (Watanabe et al, ), and 77% for humpback grouper ( C. altivelis ) (Siar, Johnston, & Sim, ). This difference may be because of the higher cost of energy, labor, and services (Zacchino et al, ) and lower investment cost of the small‐scale (backyard) hatcheries (Siar et al, ) compared with the higher investment cost of the hatchery in which our study was conducted.…”

Effects of feeding frequency of live prey on larval growth, survival, resistance to hyposalinity stress, Na+/K+ ATPase activity, and fatty acid profiles in black sea bass Centropristis striata

“…Stringent regulations on harvesting of wild populations and the potential for limited future supplies and higher market prices of ocean-caught black sea bass have stimulated studies on black sea bass aquaculture to help meet market demand. Techniques for spawning adult black sea bass in captivity (Watanabe et al, 2003;Berlinsky et al, 2005), raising larvae through juvenile stages in a hatchery (Berlinksy et al 2000, Copeland andWatanabe, 2006;Rezek et al, 2010;Carrier et al, 2011;Watanabe et al, 2015), and for growing juvenile fish to market sizes (Copeland et al 2003(Copeland et al , 2005Watanabe, 2011) have been developed in the eastern US for black sea bass, and there is now developed technology to support commercial-scale hatchery operations. Based on research funded in North Carolina by federal and state agencies, premium market size black sea bass are being produced in marine recirculating aquaculture systems at UNCW's Aquaculture Facility (Wrightsville Beach) as well as startup farms in North Carolina, Virginia and Maine.…”

The importance of live-feed traps - farming marine fish species

“…However, the shift from extensive to more intensive production systems often comes with a higher cost (Ibarra‐Castro, Cordero & Alvarez‐Lajonchère ; Sapkota et al . ; Watanabea, Dumas, Carrolla & Resimiusa ) because it demands skilled labour and higher investment for production facilities. However, this analysis only focuses on the effect of using different strategies to enhance the first feeding in marine species hatcheries (Lee ; Støttrup & McEvoy ), which to a large extent are using intensive production systems (Moretti et al .…”