The US catfish industry has undergone significant technological advancements in an attempt to achieve cost efficiencies. This study monitored the progress of the adoption of alternative and complementary technologies in the US catfish industry. A 2019–2020 multi‐state in‐person survey in Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi (n = 68), revealed increased adoption of intensively aerated ponds (6,315 ha) and split ponds (1,176 ha). The adoption of alternative, more intensive, production practices has been accompanied by increased adoption of complementary technologies of fixed‐paddlewheel aeration, automated oxygen monitors, and hybrid catfish. As a result, the average aeration rate in the tristate region has increased to 7.8 kW/ha with 97% of catfish farms adopting automated oxygen monitors. About 53% of the water surface area in the tristate region was used for hybrid catfish production. Fingerling producers have also adopted a feed‐based, oral vaccine against Enteric Septicemia of Catfish, with 83% of the fingerling farms and 73% of the fingerling production area vaccinated against ESC in 2020. Increased adoption of productivity‐enhancing technologies in the US catfish industry explains the 59% increase in foodfish productivity from 2010 to 2019. Monitoring the progress of adoption of productivity‐enhancing technologies will guide researchers and Extension personnel involved in the refinement and dissemination of these technologies.

The catfish industry is the largest U.S. aquaculture sector and a major contributor to the rural economies of the Southern states of Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Economic contributions of this industry to the tristate region were estimated using an input-output modeling approach with the IMPLAN database and software (Impact Analysis for Planning MIG, Inc.). An analysis-by-parts approach was employed as the IMPLAN database does not disaggregate the catfish sector from other livestock industries which have expenditure patterns that differ substantially from those of catfish. All major actors of the catfish industry, i.e. feed mills, hatcheries, foodfish farms, and processing plants, were surveyed to obtain their expenditure patterns and output in terms of sales. Data were obtained from 68 farms (hatcheries and foodfish combined), four feed mills, and eight processing plants in the tristate region. Sales and expenditure values were converted to coefficients employing standard enterprise budgeting techniques and imported to the IMPLAN model for estimating industry contributions during 2019. The direct output from the catfish industry ($1.10 billion) generated a total economic contribution of $1.91 billion. The industry directly employed 4,298 people and created an additional 4,868 jobs in the tristate economy for a total employment effect of 9,166 jobs. Catfish industry spending created an indirect economic effect of $552 million in other secondary sectors that supplied production inputs and services. The induced economic effect generated from household spending amounted to $254 million. Some of the key sectors influenced by the catfish industry were grain farming, banking and financial institutions, truck transportation services, electricity generation, equipment, and machinery manufacturing. The industry also generated $78 million in local, state, and federal taxes. This study provides critical insights for policymakers and others into the contribution of the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry to local and regional economies as well as its diverse-industry interconnections.

Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources to meet human wants and needs and has a critical role to play in addressing challenges related to environmental sustainability, community resilience, and food security. In the context of aquaculture, the key to such a discussion is understanding the linkages of aquaculture farming businesses with other economic sectors and how policy decisions that affect aquaculture result in economic ripples throughout local, regional, and national economies. The only previous national estimates of the economic contributions of U.S. aquaculture are nearly 30 years old. The current study was based on comprehensive data from detailed farm‐level surveys (that captured 77% of the total value of U.S. aquaculture) supplemented by information from publications on the remaining aquaculture sectors. The economic contributions measured in this study were limited to those at the farm level and do not include subsequent impacts that occur as farmed products move through processing, distribution, food service, and retail sectors in the U.S. economy. Results showed that U.S. aquaculture farms contributed $4 billion annually and supported more than 22,000 jobs each year. Labor income and value‐added contributions were $1 billion and $3 billion, respectively. Analysis of the linkages of U.S. aquaculture production activities with other economic sectors showed that nearly all (96%) economic sectors were supported to some degree by U.S. aquaculture farms. Foodfish farms generated the greatest contributions, followed by mollusk farms. Freshwater aquaculture farms contributed twice that of the contributions of marine aquaculture because of the greater size of the freshwater aquaculture sector. Growth of both freshwater and marine sectors would increase overall contributions to the economy. Constraints to growth of aquaculture include regulatory barriers that have restricted existing sectors from meeting current demand for their products. The lack of an adequate regulatory framework for offshore marine aquaculture has constrained its growth and development, especially with respect to the rest of the world. Streamlined regulations implemented in a more timely and efficient manner could result in substantially greater economic contributions from existing U.S. aquaculture farms. The total economic impact of U.S. aquaculture production is likely three to four times greater than the farm‐level impacts estimated in this study as a result of impacts that occur as aquaculture products move downstream through various marketing channels. Additional research is needed to measure the impacts of U.S. aquaculture products in the processing, distribution, food service, supermarket, and restaurant levels of the marketing chain to fully capture the total economic contributions from U.S. aquaculture.