Catfish industry in Arkansas has had its ups and downs
Farm-raised catfish was not always the first fish of choice for culture by Arkansas fish farmers — that distinction once belonged to the buffalo fish, according to Larry W. Dorman, Extension aquaculture specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
During the early 1960s, over 3,500 acres were devoted to the production of buffalo, he said. The buffalo had to be processed for food use, and one of those facilities was in Dumas.
“The first job my late mother had was at that Dumas facility,” Dorman said in a news release. “It seems my mom wanted a new washing machine, and with our finances being as they were, mom went to work to earn the money to purchase that item.”
The buffalo were raised in rice irrigation reservoirs and were not without problems. To attain the desired market size, the buffalo had to be grown for two to three years. Additionally, fish prices varied widely, and the fish soon fell out of favor with the consumer and producer.
“Buffalo seemed to be a product that consumers either loved or hated,” he said.
In the meantime, catfish production research began in the 1950s at the University of Oklahoma and was sponsored by what was then the Bureau of Sports Fisheries and Wildlife, now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dorman said. As research continued, Congress appropriated money for the development of the Fish Farm Experimental Laboratory near Stuttgart, the Fish Farm Development Station near Kelso, adjacent to the University of Arkansas Southeast Branch Station, and the Southeast Fish Culture Laboratory at Marion, Ala.
“Like any industry, the catfish industry had plenty of ups and downs. Initially, catfish were treated like a ‘row crop’ with built-in spring stocking and fall harvest,” he said. “This was known as the single batch production system. This stocking/ production system didn’t allow for very efficient operation of the catfish processing plants.”
The early processing plants had plenty of fish in the fall of the year, and very little fish at other times. Ultimately, all three processing plants operating in Arkansas at that time failed due to inconsistent fish supplies, Dorman said. These plants were at Fargo near Brinkley, known as Inland Fisheries, Mcgehee, Ralston Purina, and Dumas, Southern Processors.
In the 1970s, the catfish industry rebounded with a new stocking strategy known as a multiple batch stocking system, he said. In this system, fingerling catfish stocking is staggered throughout the year, allowing for market-size fish to be available all year long. It helped fish processing plants become more stable, and as a result, the industry saw large expansion in acreage devoted to catfish.
“As we know, catfish is well-liked by the consumer, and the industry was really doing well going into the early 2000s. Hard times then hit — sort of a double whammy,” Dorman said. “Grain prices soared, driving catfish feed prices to over $500 per ton. Next, foreign imports came in. Basa, Tra, and Swai all became available at large discount stores. These products were deceptively marketed as catfish and sold at a much lower price, grabbing a large share of the market.”
With higher feed costs and a loss of market share, some farmers and processors didn’t survive those times, he said. The results were a much-contracted industry.
“The good news is the catfish industry in the U.S. did survive and is again doing well,” Dorman said. “Production changed to more efficient systems for rearing the catfish. Farmers are making profits again. Acreage devoted to catfish seems to be on the rise. More orderly growth of the industry will better serve the industry long term.”
For more information about catfish, call Dorman at 870-265-5440 or email dormanl@uapb.edu.