Communications: Water Quality in Annually Drained and Undrained Channel Catfish Ponds over a Three-Year Period

Six ponds at Auburn University were stocked in the spring during each of 3 years with 15,000 small channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) per hectare. Ponds were aerated nightly after mid-June and feed was applied 6 d/week. Each fall, three ponds were harvested by draining and three were harvested without draining. There were no differences in net fish production, mortality, average fish size at harvest, or feed conversion between treatments in any of the 3 years. The only differences in water quality between treatments were higher concentrations of chlorophyll a and total ammonia nitrogen in undrained ponds. Harvest of catfish ponds without draining appears to be a feasible technique for reducing the pollution potential of catfish farming.