Texas aquaculture remains steady despite seasonal challenges of drought and excessive heat faced by many producers, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.
“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,” said Todd Sink, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension aquaculture specialist and director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Aquatic Diagnostics Laboratory, Bryan-College Station.
While some producers have added new ponds to their facilities, the additions were not large-scale enough to cause industry-wide impacts, said Sink, also a professor in the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
Texas is home to 130-135 aquaculture producers across the state with roughly 6,200 acres in production and annual farm-gate sales exceeding $120 million.
The state remains the national leader in red drum and hybrid striped bass production, and a top five producer of catfish and crawfish.
Most aquaculture production is concentrated in Southeast and Northeast Texas, Sink said. Both regions have faced an abnormally dry, hot summer, forcing producers to contend with increased water evaporation and the challenges it introduces.
“The drought has resulted in increased water evaporation and usage, raising production costs,” he 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.”
Sink said some lined ponds can lose up to 3 inches of water to evaporation each day.
This ongoing heat and evaporation also concentrates nutrients in the remaining water, promoting harmful algal blooms.
“Many of our producers are having increased issues with harmful algal blooms like cyanobacteria this year, and a couple of ponds have reported losses,” he said.
The loss of even one pond on an aquaculture farm translates to substantial financial loss.
Texas AgriLife Extension district reporters compiled the following report for the Central Texas district: Hot, dry weather dominated the district, with 100-degree days continuing to worsen drought conditions. Eastern portions were the exception with one receiving more than 2 inches, enough to flood some spots and leave standing water, and another reporting over 5 inches. Topsoil and subsoil moisture ran from very short across most of the district to surplus where the heaviest rain fell. Corn harvest was nearly complete, and yields were strong, with one area projecting an abovenormal average near 125 bushels per acre. Elevator capacity was running short, leaving some standing corn in the field until room opened up. Cotton harvest made good progress and reached 80% complete in places, with favorable yields on early planted cotton, including one report of 2.75 bales per acre and some fields expected to exceed 3 bales. Sorghum harvest finished, and yields were strong. Pasture and rangeland conditions were very poor to fair. Pasture mealybug infestation was widespread and expected to impact the hay crop and push hay prices up. A lot of hay was being sold, and supplies remained available for now. Pastures declined rapidly in drier areas, and water levels dropped in rivers and stock tanks. Ranchers planted winter forage for grazing, while declining wheat prices were expected to keep fall wheat planting flat. Livestock stayed in poor to excellent condition on supplemental feed and mineral programs.