Aquaculture production in Texas has remained steady despite the excessive heat and drought this summer, according to Todd Sink, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension aquaculture specialist and director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Aquatic Diagnostics Laboratory, Bryan-College Station.
“Not much new has happened in Texas aquaculture in the last year — no new farms, no new species added, no new laws or regulations — and production is pretty normal across all industries,” he explained.
The biggest change is the addition of new ponds at some facilities, but this occurred at such a small scale that no industry-wide impact was felt, added Sink, also a professor in the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
There are 130-135 aquaculture producers in Texas, with roughly 6,200 acres in production and generating $120 million in annual farm-gate sales. Texas is a national leader in red drum and striped bass production and a top five producer of catfish and crawfish.
Heat, drought challenge production
Both Southeast and Northeast Texas had an abnormally hot, dry summer, creating increased water evaporation in aquaculture facilities. Lined ponds lost up to 3 inches of water to evaporation each day.
In addition, the high temperatures and evaporation concentrates nutrients in the remaining water, resulting in harmful algae blooms like cyanobacteria. Algae blooms can be treated, but it is costly.
“The drought has resulted in increased water evaporation and usage, raising production costs,” Subj said. “The heat has increased evaporation and led to some fish and shrimp losses – primarily due to low dissolved oxygen as a result of hot water temperatures.”
At the end of the day, increased expenses due to the seasonal weather combined with rising production costs, especially for catfish producers, results in thinner profit margins and increased costs for consumers, he added.
