Sustainable Production of Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) for the Live Bait Market

Recreational saltwater fishing is a major industry in coastal areas of the United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that saltwater anglers spent $8.4 billion in 2001 on fishing trips and supplies. In many communities this type of "wildlife tourism" is the lifeblood of the community. It is vital to these communities to have a consistent supply of needed goods for these anglers. Therefore much of the success of the saltwater fishing industry in an area lies in the ability of the bait suppliers to harvest and provide suitable bait to both professional guides and amateur anglers. Currently almost all marine baitfish are caught by commercial fishermen using trawls or by the individual angler just prior to the fishing trip, both of which are inconsistent and unsustainable. A solution to the problems of inconsistent supplies of healthy bait fish and the environmental impacts associated with current harvesting methods is the use of aquaculture practices to produce baitfish for the live bait market. Aquatic Innovations' (AI) commercial goal is to raise baitfishes for the live bait market. Currently AI is proposing to investigate the practical and economic feasibility of spawning and nursing pinfish larvae in a recirculating culture system. Our goal is to develop a culture system and protocol that can provide advanced fingerlings for stocking production facilities. The following phase of the research will determine the most efficient method of raising pinfish to market size and study the economics of the retail and wholesale markets.