AQUACULTURE
    June 1996

     FLORIDA AQUACULTURE SALES TOTAL $79 MILLION IN 1995

    Results of a recent survey conducted by the Florida Department of Agriculture revealed that Florida growers sold $79 million in aquacultural products during 1995. This compares with $73 million (based on a similar survey) in 1993 and $54 million in 1991. Sales in1989 totaled $51 million. The first survey for Florida Aquaculture estimated sales in 1987 at only $35 million. The 1995 sales were more than double 1987 sales and represent an 8 percent increase from two years earlier. There were about 7,499 acres of land, including water surface area, devoted to aquaculture production in 1995. Aquatic species identified in the survey were tropical (ornamental) fish, catfish, alligators, oysters, clams, sport and game fish, crawfish, eels, tilapia, shrimp, aquatic plants and other minor aquatics. The value is based on farm gate sales of aquatics produced by Florida growers and excludes harvest from open waters or the wild. Growers also sold another $4.3 million worth of tropical fish which they imported for immediate resale. All statistics shown in the tables of this report are for net Florida production and value and exclude imports and purchases from other Florida producers for immediate resale.

    There were 513 active producers of which 451 reported sales in 1995. As in previous surveys, tropical fish continued to dominate Florida's Aquacultural industry. There were 205 active growers of tropical fish accounting for $52.5 million, 67 percent of total sales. Tropical fish accounted for 64 percent of total sales in 1993. Aquatic plants, with 72 growers and $8.61 million net sales, were second in value. Oysters and clams, valued at $6.43 million, were sold by 167 growers. Alligators, with 31 active growers contributed $4.50 million from combined hide and meat sales. Sport and game fish sales totaled $1.02 million and sales from tilapia were steady at $1.05 million. Twenty nine catfish growers contributed $0.39 million. All other aquatic sales totaled $4.15 million from 13 growers.

    The survey also identified 96 other potential new growers with intentions to produce aquacultural products for sale in 1996 or later. The largest increase is expected in clams with 65 new growers. Many of these 65 new growers will be in production when they graduate from the project "WAVE" school at Cedar Key in June of this year. There are 9 growers for tropical fish and 4 for aquatic plants who are expected to have sales for the first time in 1996 or later. There are five new oyster growers, five new tilapia growers, and one new sport and game fish producer with intentions to have future sales. Among other species there are seven other operations expected to have aquatic production in 1996 or later.

    Based on survey findings, production of tropical fish, aquatic plants, tilapia, and clams will show slight to moderate increases in 1996. Tropical fish production is well established in Florida, with orderly growth expected to continue. Overall, the aquacultural industry will likely continue good growth and development in Florida, with its mild climate and vast waterways. However, some hindrances to expansion reported in past surveys include obtaining finances, government regulations, poor market for production, and problems with pilferage.

     TROPICAL FISH SALES REACH $52.5 MILLION IN 1995

    Net sales of tropical fish totaled $52.5 million from 205 growers during 1995, up $5.8 million from 1993 and $18.8 million above 1989. The first survey showed sales at only $21.7 million in 1987. Egg layers contributed $35.2 million in net value while sales of livebearers totaled $17.2 million. All of the increase is from egg layers while production and sale of livebearers has remained mostly steady since 1991. Egg layers imported for immediate resale were valued at $2.9 million in 1995 while the value of livebearer imports was $1.4 million. Combined imports were down 41 percent from 1993. Purchases from other growers totaled $8.7 million in 1995. Net sales do not include value of imports or value of purchases from other growers. Producers used 61.5 million square feet of water surface area. Fifty three percent of the water surface was used for growing egg layers and the remaining 47 percent was used for growing livebearers. These percentages reflect a steady level for water surface of livebearing tropical fish and egg laying type since 1993.

    Some of the more prominent species of tropical fish sold commercially for ornamental use are guppies, mollies, swordtails, variatus, platies tetras, gouramies, goldfish, cichlids, barbs, and tropical catfish. Fish harvested from the wild are not included in this survey. Tropical fish production is centered in Hillsborough and Polk counties with smaller concentrations in Dade and Palm Beach counties. Current growers expect to use two percent more water surface area this year than they used in 1995. In addition, there are nine new growers expecting to produce tropical fish this year or later.

     AQUATIC PLANTS TOTALED $8.6 MILLION IN 1995

    Net sales from 72 growers of aquatic plants reached $8.6 million during 1995. This compares with sales of $13.2 million reported by 67 growers in 1993. Aquatic plants include plants for aquariums and farm produced plants used in wetland restoration. Sales do not include harvest from the wild or resales of plants purchased from other growers. Also, plants purchased from other growers and plants imported for immediate resale are not included in the total. For the most part, watercress grown for food is not included in this survey. Much of the watercress is shipped out-of-state as young plants and grown in other States. This resulted in a significant decline in total sales of aquatic plants. Value of aquatic plants for aquariums and farm plants used in wetland restoration have held steady. Four new growers are expected to produce aquatic plants in 1996.

TROPICAL FISH AND AQUATIC PLANTS, FLORIDA 1995
Specie Number of
growers 		Water surface Value
of sales
1995
1995 1996 1/
Number 1,000 sq. feet 1,000
dollars
Egg layers 147 33,142 33,437 35,236
Livebearers 132 28,404 29,069 17,237
Total
Tropical fish    205 2/ 61,546 62,506 52,473
Aquatic Plants 72 6,315 7,153 8,610
1/ Includes area only for growers having sales in 1995. 2/ Total reflects some growers with both egg layers and livebearers.


     CATFISH PRODUCTION DECLINES TO $0.39 MILLION

    During 1995 catfish sales totaled $0.39 million from 29 growers using 237 acres of water surface. These growers expect about the same acreage in 1996. In addition, there are 2 other growers with intentions to produce catfish in 1996. By comparison, sales reported by 37 growers in 1993 amounted to $0.55 million. Catfish production is concentrated in north Florida and the Panhandle.

    Catfish sold for food in 1995 totaled 157,446 pounds, down sharply from the 336,000 pounds sold for food in 1993. Value of sales for food in 1995 was $198,000. The average price was $1.26 per pound, 22 cents per pound more than in 1993. Growers received $192,000 from sales of fingerlings and stocker size fish.

     ALLIGATOR SALES STEADY AT $4.50 MILLION

    Combined sales of alligator hides and meat during 1995 held steady at $4.50 million compared with $4.43 million in 1993. Thirty one growers sold 25,800 hides at an average price of $147 per hide, for a total value of $3.79 million. While the number of hides sold in 1995 declined 30 percent from 1993, the value per hide rose 67 percent from the average of $88 in 1993. Producers also sold 138,175 pounds of meat, about 5.4 pounds per gator for an average of $5.14 per pound or a total of $0.71 million. The 31 active growers reported a total inventory of live gators at 93,900 as of February 1, 1996. This compares with 101,600 on hand February 1, 1994, suggesting a relatively steady level of hide sales.

COMMERCIAL ALLIGATOR INVENTORY BY TYPE, FLORIDA, FEBRUARY 1, 1996
Growers Brood
stock 		Hatchlings All
other 		Total
Number
31 5,600 26,300 62,000 93,900


     OYSTER SALES TOTAL $1.02 MILLION

    During 1995, Florida growers sold oysters valued at $1.02 million, up from $0.97 million in 1993. There were 38,200 bushels of oysters sold by 25 producers at an average price of $26.78 per bushel. In addition, five other producers were expecting to begin production in 1996 or later. These statistics do not include oysters harvested from public waters off the coast of Florida. Oyster production is expected to increase based on seedings reported by growers. Reports for survival of oysters seeded to harvest averaged 55 percent. Many growers do not seed oysters. They spread shells in the leased area and oysters from the wild lay eggs on the prepared beds. In such a case growers cannot determine the survival rates. Storms during the growing season damaged beds and reduced harvest in some areas.

     CLAM PRODUCTION ROSE TO $5.41 MILLION

    During 1995, sales of clams produced by Florida growers totaled $5.41 million, a 48 percent increase from the $3.66 million in 1993. The 142 active growers averaged 12.6 cents per mature clam sold. This is the equivalent of 43 million mature clams sold in 1995. Many of the 1993 graduates of "PROJECT OCEAN" began growing clams but some did not sell any in 1995. Brevard and Indian River counties continue to provide a good volume of clams. Production is expected to rise sharply in 1996. Also, the $5.41 million includes some nursery clams that were grown for a period of time and then shipped out-of-state for further growing to maturity. This is value added for Florida aquaculture.
    There are 65 additional growers expecting to produce clams in 1996 or later. Of that number, 49 are students attending the "PROJECT WAVE" school at Cedar Key who expect to graduate in June of this year. They expect to begin growing clams in the Cedar Key area when they graduate. Production has centered along the east central and northeast coastal counties but recent graduates of "PROJECT OCEAN" at Cedar Key harvested a significant volume of clams last year off the coast of Dixie and Levy counties.
    Seeding in 1996 is expected to increase sharply to 248 million clams if intentions materialize. Survival rate to harvest was reported to average 66 percent in 1995, up from 65 percent in 1993. Improvement in seed quality and growing skills contributed to the higher survival rate in recent years. This survival rate is expected to improve significantly in 1996 if there are no storms and preditors can be controlled.

     TILAPIA SALES REACHED $1.05 MILLION

    During 1995, tilapia sales totaled $1.05 million. This compares with $1.04 million in 1993. The 1995 sales were reported by 22 growers compared with 19 growers in 1993. Some of the tilapia are produced in leased waters that were formerly phosphate mines. Growth is expected to be steady or show a slight increase. There are five new growers expecting to start growing tilapia in 1996.

NUMBER OF CLAMS AND OYSTERS SEEDED BY YEAR SEEDED, FLORIDA
Year
seeded 		Clams Oysters 1/
Thousands
1994 86,816 560
1995 118,288 962
1996 intentions 247,908 1,781
Survival Percent
to harvest 66 55
1/ Many growers do not seed oyster beds. Thus, the relatively low amount reported as seeded.


     SPORT AND GAME FISH SALES TOTALED $1.02 MILLION

    Sales from sport and game fish fell to $1.02 million in 1995. This compares with $1.23 million in 1993. There were 11 growers who reported sales in 1995. One new producer is expecting to start production in 1996.

     OTHER AQUATICS ROSE TO $4.15 MILLION

    During 1995, sales of other aquatics totaled $4.15 million, up sharply from $1.24 million in 1993. Other aquatics include crawfish, fresh water shrimp, eels and other minor aquatics. Production came from 98 acres of water surface used by 13 growers. There are four new growers expecting to produce some of the above mentioned items in 1996 or later.

CATFISH, ALLIGATORS, OYSTERS, CLAMS, AND OTHER AQUATICS, FLORIDA, 1995
Specie Number
of
growers 		Water surface Value of
sales
1995
1995 1996 1/
Catfish: Number Acres 1,000
Food 24 154 182 198
Other 8 83 83 192
Total 2/ 29 237 265 390
Alligators:    
Hides 3,790
Meats 710
Total 31 267 267 4,500
Oysters 25 282 329 1,023
Clams 3/ 142 791 832 5,411
Sport/Game fish 11 76 80 1,025
Tilapia 22 2,109 2,112 1,051
Other
Aquatics 13 98 98 4,147
Total 4/ 238 3,860 3,983 17,547
1/ Includes area only for active growers in 1995. 2/ Total reflects some growers with both food type and other. 3/ Total does not reflect prospective graduates of "PROJECT WAVE" around Cedar Key. They are expected to graduate in June 1996. 4/ Total reflects some growers with more than one specie.

     RACEWAY AND TANK CULTURE

    Water volume for the 75 producers reporting raceway and or tank culture for 1995 totaled 21.3 million gallons with a daily exchange rate of 40 percent.

     AQUACULTURE LABOR

    Florida aquaculture operators reported working an average of 37 hours/week on their operations during 1995. This compares with 39 hours per week for 1993. Operators in Hillsborough, the leading county with a heavy concentration of tropical fish, averaged 54 hours per week compared with 52 hours per week in 1993. Brevard County, with a heavy concentration of clam producers averaged 32 hours during 1995 compared with 25 hours per week in 1993.


    Aquacultural producers employed 941 full-time workers and 244 part-time workers in 1995. This compares with 964 full-time and 292 part-time workers in 1993. In addition there were 227 unpaid workers, primarily, family members, reported in the survey. This compares with 341 unpaid workers reported in the survey for 1993.

     AQUACULTURE LABOR REQUIREMENTS, FLORIDA, 1995

State 		Number of farms and workers
Unpaid Paid full time Paid part time
Farms Workers Farms Workers Farms Workers
Total 167 227 168 941 131 244