Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #340485
Research Project: Water Quality and Production Systems to Enhance Production of Catfish

Location: Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit

Title: Dissolved oxygen and aeration in ictalurid catfish aquaculture

Author
item BOYD, C - AUBURN UNIVERSITY
item TORRANS, EUGENE
item TUCKER, CRAIG

Submitted to: Journal of the World Aquaculture Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/31/2018
Publication Date: 5/4/2018
Citation: Boyd, C.E., Torrans, E.L., Tucker, C.S. 2018. Dissolved oxygen and aeration in ictalurid catfish aquaculture. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. 49:7-70.

Interpretive Summary: Meeting the world’s food needs requires farmers to become more and more productive. Increasing agricultural productivity is accomplished by developing new technologies in research followed by adoption of promising new technologies by farmers. Factors that drive technology adoption have been well studied in agriculture, but less attention has been paid to drivers of technology adoption in aquaculture. Aquacultural technologies, including technologies to increase productivity of farm-raised catfish, have developed and advanced rapidly in recent decades, but not all have been adopted readily by farmers. This paper examines critical factors influencing aquaculture technology adoption decisions, including 1) characteristics of the technology, 2) farm characteristics, 3) economic factors, 4) sociological characteristics, and 5) institutional factors. Each of these factors is illustrated using examples of recent technologies developed for catfish and other aquatic species. Knowledge of these factors can accelerate adoption of promising technologies and, therefore, more quickly improve aquaculture productivity.

Technical Abstract: Technology adoption has played a key role in the global development and increase in agricultural productivity. However, the decision to adopt a new technology on farms is complex. While the factors that drive the adoption of new technologies have been well studied in agriculture, less attention has been paid to drivers of technology adoption in aquaculture. Aquacultural technologies have developed and advanced rapidly in recent decades, but not all technologies have been adopted readily by farmers. This review paper summarizes some of the critical factors that influence aquaculture technology adoption decisions such as: 1) characteristics of the technology, 2) farm characteristics, 3) economic factors, 4) sociological characteristics, and 5) institutional factors. Fish farmers have tended to adopt technologies that are perceived to be more advantageous than others in terms of productivity, cost efficiency, and ease of management. Price of aquaculture products and profit expectations from business ventures were key economic factors influencing adoption decisions. Given the wide array of species, production practices, and global nature of aquaculture, the intensity and the extent of adoption of technologies depend on the nature of the industry in which they are adopted and their economic, social, political, and regulatory environments.