Current status of marine finfish larviculture in the United States

Twenty or more species of marine finfish have been reared experimentally for stock enhancement or aquaculture purposes in United States (US) hatcheries. The development of larviculture techniques for marine finfish in the US historically has focused on the restoration of recreational and commercial fisheries rather than on development of new agribusiness opportunities to produce food for domestic consumption or export. The situation has changed in recent years in response to increasing demand for fresh seafood. Some representative species being considered for aquaculture include striped mullet (Mugil cephalus), milkfish (Chanos chanos), mahimahi (Corphaena hippurus) and the Pacific threadfin (Polydactylus sexfilis) in Hawaii; the southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma), summer flounder (P. dentatus) and red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) along the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico; and the white sea bass (Atractoscion nobilis) along the West coast of the US. Spawning is controlled by exogenous hormones and/or photothermal controls. Larviculture is conducted mainly by extensive and intensive methods. In this paper, the factors influencing marine finfish production from intensive larval rearing are discussed, based on the species cultured in the US. Hatchery techniques for two regionally emerging, high-value species, the Pacific threadfin and southern flounder, are presented. In the foreseeable future, larviculture in the US will continue to pursue development of high-value species to meet fisheries management goals and to offset the high costs of aquaculture production.