Controlled Commercial Production of Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) Juveniles from Captured Wild Adults in Tanks and Ponds

Larviculture of marine finfish to provide feed trained healthy seedstock is a major constraint to the merging marine aquaculture industry. Recent research (Phase 1) in the U.S. and some anecdotal information from Asian services have shown success in captive habituation, maturation and spawning wild adult cobia broodstocks and production of high quality eggs/larvae. Larviculture of cobia fry as shown to be technically and economically feasible in our Phase 1 project, where newly hatched fry were reared in intensively managed tanks and earthen ponds. Our Phase 2 objectives are to: 1) abituate, mature, and spawn adult cobia, extend their spawning season; 2) duplicate and improve to commercial scale larval rearing in indoor and outdoor systems; and 3) develop a detailed economic model describing juvenile cobia development in intensively managed tanks and earthen ponds.