PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS ON THE FEASIBILITY OF PRODUCING BULL MINNOWS (Fundulus grandis) FOR THE LIVE BAIT INDUSTRY¹

Abstract

ABSTRACT Bull minnows are used extensively as live bait along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Fish used in this industry are generally trapped from marsh pools or seined from open bodies of water. Since the species is not available from commercial hatcheries, supply rarely meets demand. Experiments at Claude Peteet Mariculture Center, Gulf Shores, Alabama demonstrated the capability of Fundulus grandis to spawn in brackish water ponds, utilize commercial fish feeds, and produce economical gains in grow‐out ponds. Standing crops of 570.3 kg/ha of marketable fish were produced in a pond stocked at 125,000/ha receiving supplemental feeding and 249.5 kg/ha from one pond stocked at 62,500/ha receiving only applications of organic fertilizer. This production was attained in 95 and 82 days of culture from the fed and unfed ponds, respectively. Observations on spawning activity are made.