A comparison of black drum, red drum, and their hybrid saltwater pond culture
Hybridization has been used in aquaculture to produce fish that exhibit improved growth and survival over parent species. Previous studies produced an intergeneric hybrid by crossing female black drum Pogonias cromis with male red drum Sciaenops ocellatus . In the present study, the two parent species and their hybrid were simultaneously cultured in ponds for 9 mo. Two- to three-day-old larvae of each type were initially placed into three separate 0.1 ha ponds. After about 41 d, fingerlings of each type were transferred from the larval culture ponds to six 0.2 ha ponds. Two ponds each received 3,000 black drum, red drum or hybrid fingerlings. Fish were fed a commercial feed and harvested after about 230 d. At harvest, mean weight, mean total length, and production for the hybrids was 190 g, 245 mm, and 10.7 kg/ha/d, respectively; red drum averaged 142 g, 236 mm, and 7.0 kg/ha/d; and black drum averaged 144 g, 214 mm, and 10.6 kg/ha/d. Black drum survival was 94%, red drum survival was 63%, and hybrid survival was 72%. Hybrid growth was more rapid than either parent. A taste panel failed to identify differences in flavor between the three fishes. With similar flavor and faster growth, hybrid drum have potential for commercial mariculture.