Indoor Production of Hybrid Striped Bass Fingerlings

A major constraint to the continued development of the hybrid striped bass industry is the seasonally limited supply of fingerlings. The availability of gravid brood animals is extremely limited outside the normal spawning season and production of fingerlings in earthen ponds is poor after pond temperatures exceed 25 degrees Celsius. A great deal of recent research is directed towards development of domesticated brood animals and maturation techniques. However, to best take advantage of this technology, indoor production techniques must be developed and refined. The proposed research is directed towards demonstrating technical and economic feasibility of producing hybrid stiped bass in an intensive indoor production system.