7/25/01

Roy Roberson

FEDERAL GRANT TO AUBURN HELPS CATFISH PRODUCERS AND CONSUMERS

AUBURN -- A $500,000 federal appropriation to Auburn University catfish researchers will help producers nationwide produce higher quality fish at a lower cost, reduce environmental impacts and provide a lower cost and higher quality product for consumers.

John Jensen, head of Auburn's Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, says a fish health initiative funded by the federal grant will allow AU to hire a microbial geneticist and a fish epidemiologist to conduct research geared to better understand the pathogens that limit commercial fish production.

In Alabama, catfish production has grown 1500 percent since 1980. Nationwide, the popular food fish is grown from Georgia to California and marketed in all 50 states and every Canadian province.

"We are fortunate to have a U.S. Department of Agriculture Fish Health Laboratory on the Auburn campus," said Jensen. "The $500,000 federal appropriation will help us to work in cooperation with this lab and with catfish researchers nationwide to develop a comprehensive fish health program."

A key to further development of the commercial catfish industry and a part of this fish health initiative is to produce fish with high harvestability. Channel catfish grown in the wild traditionally feed on the bottom, while crossbred channel and blue catfish tend to feed in the middle layers of water, making them easier to harvest.

"We have heard a great deal about Auburn producing 'dumber catfish,'" Jensen said. "In reality, we are producing a more harvestable catfish that adds to the profitability for the grower and ultimately lower costs to the consumer."

He added that commercially grown catfish have different feeding characteristics than catfish than grow in rivers and streams around the country.

Jensen said Alabama produces more than 110 million pounds of catfish annually, making it the seventh-largest agricultural commodity produced in the state.

The half-million-dollar federal grant comes at a time when U.S. catfish producers are competing with catfish imported from Brazil, Iceland, Vietnam and other countries. Catfish is one of more than 1,000 fish species imported for food into the United States from more than 140 nations worldwide.

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CONTACT: Jensen, 334/844-4785.