The efficacy of commercially produced shrimp for use as bait by fishermen in S.C. is currently unknown. One of the factors to establish this industry is to develop and optimize protocols that will enable year-round grow-out production of bait shrimp. The proposed work will experimentally answer questions of concern to potential growers and will disseminate information to those interested in developing the industry.
The goal of this project is to build on our experience with captive breeding of L. setiferus in order to advance commercialization of a viable bait shrimp industry in South Carolina and the Southeast. Having demonstrated the operation of a L. setiferus hatchery, we will focus specifically on the next stage, i.e. the grow-out phase, by addressing two simple questions/hypotheses: First, can L. setiferus be grown economically from PL to marketable (6 g) size in indoor culture systems that are an appropriate size and design to simulate commercial grow-out conditions? Second, can information about protocols and market potential be effectively disseminated so that new bait shrimp farming enterprises start up in South Carolina by the end of this project?