Food Fish
Alligators | Aquatic Plants | Crustaceans | Food Fish | Miscellaneous SpeciesMolluscs | Marine Ornamental | Ornamental Fish and Invertebrates
Aquaculturists are motivated to profitably produce food fish species to offset the nation's seafood deficit; however, Florida is one of the most competitive and active seafood markets in the world. The state is uniquely positioned as a point-of-entry for seafood products from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. During 2010, Florida seafood companies imported approximately 648 million pounds of edible seafood worth $2.1 billion for sale within Florida, North America, or to re-export. In addition to imports, Florida is a dynamic seafood producer. Preliminary 2010 information from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute indicates that Florida's 8,210 commercial fishers landed 91 million pounds of high value seafood and fishery products worth $186 million. During 2007 Florida aquaculturists sold an estimated $3.5 million worth of catfish, hybrid striped bass, sturgeon and tilapia to local, state, national and international markets.
A complex infrastructure exists to purchase, process, and re-sell edible fish and shellfish. Approximately 300 Florida-based businesses process seafood by methods as simple as gutting and icing fish to large scale breading and packaging of shrimp, crab, or fish products. Another 1,406 businesses buy and sell seafood as dockside fish buyers, wholesalers, brokers and importers/exporters. Florida is also a huge market for seafood with an international reputation for delicious seafood that is sold through a $28.9 billion restaurant industry and 4,380 seafood retailers (independent and grocery chain stores) that satisfy 82 million visitors and 19 million residents. Florida's residents are seafood fanatics. They consume 37 pounds of seafood (purchased and self-caught) per person per year which is over twice the national per capita average of 16 pounds.
As a result, Florida aquaculturists have competed by utilizing two basic strategies. They have produced products at costs competitive with large farms to access similar markets or they grow species targeted to specific niche markets (local retailers and consumers familiar with the farm and in search of high quality products) that yield enough market value to offset small farm costs of production. Unfortunately, suitable niche markets and the ability of Florida 's 91 small farms to produce products at competitive prices are objectives difficult to consistently achieve.
The U.S. catfish industry during 2009 consisted of 1,306 farms, 146,900 acres and farm gate sales of $410 million (predominantly located in Mississippi , Alabama , Arkansas and Louisiana ). Florida has 54 catfish farms that sold $979,000 worth of catfish during 2007. Approximately 12 of these farmers are located in the western Panhandle and cooperatively grow and market channel catfish. They cooperate to construct catfish ponds, purchase feed, share harvest equipment and market their catfish to reduce costs and compete with large, out-of-state producers.
The U.S. hybrid striped bass industry consists of 50 farms with 2009 production of 8.5 million pounds. Three farms in Florida produced 271,000 pounds and reported higher prices and increased production costs relative to the rest of the nation. Hybrid striped bass are the product of a cross between white and striped bass accomplished in hatcheries which are out-of-state and have high transportation costs. Unfortunately, wild, gravid females are used to produce fingerlings and year-to-year fingerling availability fluctuates. This instability coupled with growing interest by white tablecloth restaurants in Florida and the Mid-Atlantic Region's willingness to pay a premium price for on-ice, whole fish creates an opportunity for small farms that can rapidly modify production. However, this is a hard won opportunity fraught with risk and uncertainty.
Tilapia (consisting of several species and species hybrids) are extremely durable fish that can thrive in poor quality water on low-cost feeds derived from vegetable protein. They are grown by small farms throughout central and south Florida because of simplicity and ease of culture. Tilapia produced in tropical and sub-tropical countries (Asia and Central and South America) are imported in huge quantities and at low prices to dominate the U.S. grocery and food service markets. Other competing sources include an annual 3 to 4 million pound wild harvest of blue tilapia in central Florida that is sold in rural seafood markets in Florida , Georgia and Alabama and an end-of-summer harvested crop produced from Alabama watershed ponds. The Alabama harvest dramatically drives live prices downward during September and October to $0.75 to $0.90 per pound. Florida tilapia farms primarily market their live or fresh production locally to avoid seasonal price fluctuations and competition from imported products.
Tilapia are a perfect species to use in educational programs and 26 Florida elementary, middle or high schools as well as three Sheriff operated programs for troubled youth grow tilapia in pond or tank systems. Growing fish in the classroom is a unique educational tool that combines science, social studies, math, and language arts into a single course of study. There is also the end-of-year reward of a memorable dinner for students, parents, and faculty.
Florida farms culture the greatest variety of sturgeon species than any other state in the nation: Atlantic , Siberian, sterlet, bester, Russian, Huso huso , Acipenser stellatus , and Adriatic sturgeons. Three sturgeon farms are beginning to commercially harvest caviar for local, national and international markets after a 10-year startup period during which female fish reached sexual maturity. Marketing this high-value seafood has, to a limited extent, offset the long and risky grow-out period. Fortunately, sturgeon meat has the market values of high-grade tuna and swordfish and is in a class by itself for its texture, flavor and appearance. Expensive tank systems that recirculate, clean, and cool the water are utilized as the species are cultured far from their temperate homelands. State, national, and international regulations govern sturgeon production and commerce because of well-founded concerns associated with the wild sturgeon managed and harvested in the Caspian Sea region.
Work, partially funded by projects supported by the Aquaculture Review Council, at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University (HBOI-FAU) is unraveling biological and production questions associated with the production of cobia and pompano in systems that recirculate and recondition production water. Mote's Center for Aquaculture Research and Development is designing, constructing and evaluating inland recirculating technologies to produce marine species. Commercial-scale marine fish broodstock, larval and fingerling systems have been developed and evaluated. These systems include a wastewater treatment loop allowing them to recirculate 100% of the system water and produce wetland plants in the high-nutrient wastewater. Mote's commercial demonstration farm is producing Siberian sturgeon and caviar in intensive recirculating systems and utilizing the high nutrient discharge for the production of freshwater wetlands mitigation plants. Marine fish species being addressed at Mote include common snook, pompano, red drum, amberjack and red snapper
HBOI-FAU develops warm water aquaculture technology and transfers it to industry for commercial application. By designing and refining methods of farming saltwater fish at inland locations the program also aims to provide: diversified opportunities for Florida and the U.S. agricultural sector, methods to eliminate the need for aquaculture operations to locate on increasingly scarce coastal lands, and benefits for the trade and food security through a strong domestic aquaculture industry. Among the many successes HBOI-FAU had in a fruitful partnership with USDA-Agriculture Research Service was the development of spawning techniques for Florida pompano, numerous advances in feeding and water recirculation techniques, and grow out of Florida pompano and cobia to market size in large-scale production systems. HBOI-FAU is currently developing a saltwater land-based integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system designed to grow multiple aquaculture crops including fish, shrimp, shellfish, and seaweed in a sustainable and economic manner.
Public investment to support food fish production infrastructure development-hatcheries, processing and distribution-are needed to improve farm gate value and reduce input costs. Feed and certain supplies have doubled or tripled in cost which affects all aspects of food fish production. Additional assistance is needed to develop the technology to yield consistent fingerlings of economically-viable species, market research to define competitive products and identify suitable markets, and an integrated public-farmer promotion effort to focus attention on product quality and availability.
