Farm raised catfish is the largest aquaculture industry in the United States. In 2005, the U.S. catfish industry produced 600 million pounds of catfish from 165,000 pond water acres. The farm-raised catfish industry at $450 million in annual production value has the highest economic value of any aquaculture industry in the United States. The next highest valued aquaculture industry in the country is trout, valued at $74 million in annual production.
Mississippi produced 350 million pounds, or 55 percent, of all U. S. catfish production in 2005, and Mississippians produced this amount in only 100,000 pond water acres. Since its origin in the 1960s, the catfish industry has grown rapidly and now has an economic impact in the hundreds of millions of dollars in Mississippi each year.
Arkansas, in 1963, was the first state to produce farm-raised catfish on a commercial level. Mississippi was not far behind when its commercial production began in 1965. After 1970, rapid expansion of catfish production in the Mississippi Delta occurred, and Mississippi has led the catfish industry ever since.
Channel catfish, which is ideally suited to a pond environment, quickly became the standard species for commercial use. These fish are hardy, tolerate dense stocking, and thrive in a wide range of environmental conditions. They are easily spawned under proper conditions, yet will not spawn when placed in the grow-out ponds, which gives the farmer control over the production process. Fish newly hatched from the egg, called fry, readily accept manufactured feed and continue to eat feed until they are harvested at a weight of one to three pounds. The catfish’s most important asset is its good taste which drives the demand for this healthy food. The white channel catfish flesh is firm with a mild flavor allowing it to be prepared and seasoned in a number of ways, such as fried, broiled, grilled, or baked.
Before catfish were produced in ponds, Mississippians supplied their kitchens and their fish-fry events by either catching their own catfish in nearby rivers using cane poles, or buying catfish from fishmongers or commercial fishermen. Restaurants serving catfish have always been popular in Mississippi and require lots of catfish. At times commercial catfish fishermen could not supply enough wild-caught river catfish and pond-raised catfish began to fill the need. Over time the consistent quality and quantity of pond-raised catfish produced by farmers was preferred over the commercial fisherman’s wild-caught river catfish.
Mississippi had many early pioneers in the farm-raised catfish industry who came from a variety of backgrounds. Many of them entered into the catfish industry because they were looking for crop diversification or for profitable alternatives to growing cotton on marginally productive lands, while others entered the business because of the novelty of growing fish in a pond as a crop.
Catfish farming practices have changed since the days of the early pioneers. In the 1960s, catfish ponds ranged from twenty to forty acres while today the typical pond has been reduced to ten to fifteen acres because it is easier to manage, feed, and harvest catfish from smaller ponds. Catfish harvesting and loading methods have changed as well. In the 1960s farmers entered the drained pond with wash tubs, loaded the tubs with fish, and carried them up the pond embankment. The fish would be weighed on cotton scales and then lifted up and dumped into the back of a hauling truck. Today seine nets are used to capture the fish, without draining the ponds, and cranes equipped with scales hoist large nets full of catfish from the pond directly to truck hauling tanks, making the whole process much easier and quicker.
By http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/articles/217/catfish-farming-in-mississippi
Catfish Tacos
Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.
Ingredients:
3 or 4 catfish fillets, cut into strips
salt and pepper, to taste
seafood seasoning (I used old bay)
flour tortillas
1/2 cup mayo
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
green onions
peanut oil or vegetable oil
1 cup panko bread crumbs
cole slaw
2 eggs, beaten
Directions:
Heat oil to 350 degrees. In a bowl, add eggs and beat. In a separate bowl, add panko bread crumbs and seafood seasoning, mix well. Season catfish with salt, pepper and seafood seasoning. Dip catfish in eggs, then dip in panko bread crumbs. Add catfish to hot oil and fry for 3 minutes. Remove catfish and place on paper towels to drain. Add one strip catfish to tortillas, then add cole slaw, green onions and sauce. Enjoy!
Sauce:
1/2 cup light mayo
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon seafood seasoning (I used old bay)
In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
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