Group Summaries - Economics

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May 22-24, 2006 UF Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory Attendees: Jim Steeby (NWAC), Terry Hanson (MSU), Ray McClain (LSU), Chuck Adams (UF), Claude Reeves (AU), and Carole Engle (UAPB) Facilitator: Carole Engle (UAPB) SESSION SUMMARY: The group began with a discussion of value-added products. Mississippi State is looking at a new initiative or value-added product from catfish and prawns. It is a collaborative project with Food Science and Economics personnel. UAPB is looking at new products from catfish belly flaps as well as lowering fat levels to increase value. Experimental auctions are being used to estimate consumer willingness to pay. Florida has been working to develop a frozen oyster product to reduce illness from Vibrio. Discussion turned to food safety perceptions by consumers. Jim Steeby (NWAC) discussed a national extension initiative that would document the risks and benefits of eating seafood. The group discussed the possibility of breaking the initiative down into several different modules with associated press releases. One module might target 4-H and youth groups, another for EFNEP, and perhaps others for grocery store managers. Carole Engle (UAPB) mentioned some recent focus groups in Little Rock and how, across ethnicities, incomes and lifestyles, people were concerned with mercury, toxins, and hormones in farm-raised fish. A Ph.D. student in Idaho is studying media reports on aquaculture and their impact. The discussion continued on topics related to quality, sustainability, and in-service training on seafood safety. The need for product labels that indicate that products have been tested for mercury, certification programs, country-of-origin labeling, and nutritional information was discussed. Carole Engle (UAPB) raised the issue of the use of non-native and invasive species in aquaculture and the need for economic analysis of these conflicts. UAPB has done some work related to effects of restricting the use of black carp on hybrid striped bass farms and is initiating a study of the economics of aquatic vegetation control, including grass carp. Chuck Adams (UF) mentioned some Sea Grant work related to biofouling by invasive species and other UF work related to invasive species. The discussion turned to production economics. Jim Steeby (NWAC) talked about the modular system and the possibility of feeding different protein levels for different fish sizes, i.e., 35% protein for the 1^st and 2^nd years and 26% protein for the 3^rd year. He also mentioned that farmers who use the modular system indicate that they need to get stockers to 200 to 250 pounds/1000; otherwise they would stick to multiple batch. Residual stockers not used in grow-out are a problem. Carole Engle (UAPB) said that LP model simulations do not always select the modular system; given that investment in the stockers, the models only select stockers to produce larger sizes of fish on larger farms and when the quantity of stockers produced closely matches the number that can be moved into grow-out. Other economic studies included in written reports include:
University of Florida
1.	Financial costs of triploid clam hatchery and benefits of triploid grow-out.
2.	Feasibility of sunray versus clams.
3.	Financial characteristics of pompano culture system developed by Mote Marine Lab.
4.	Financial feasibility of inland penaeid shrimp culture.
5.	Feasibility of marine baitfish.
Mississippi State University
1.	Economic analysis of trematode infections in commercial catfish.
2.	Economic analysis of modular catfish production.
3.	Consumer attitudes and preferences for freshwater prawns.
4.	Freshwater prawn costs of production.
5.	National aquaculture risk feasibility study for aquaculture.
6.	Use of economic principals in catfish farm decision-making.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
1.	Productive efficiency of catfish farms in Chicot County, Arkansas.
2.	Evaluation of the potential market for and uses of catfish processing wastes.
3.	The effect of understocking density of channel catfish stockers in multiple-batch production.
4.	Analysis of risk-shifting in the market for farm-raised catfish in Mississippi and Arkansas.
5.	Focus groups on value-added aquaculture products.
6.	National supermarket and restaurant surveys.
7.	Economic impact of the Catfish Research Verification Trials.
8.	Efficiency change and technological progress in the U.S. catfish processing sector.

June 5-7, 2005 Virginia State University Attendees: There were 20 participants from 11 institutions. Facilitator: Dr. Jimmy Avery SESSION SUMMARY: Jimmy Avery – MSU
·	Two workshops on financial analysis of catfish operations were recently held in Mississippi. The workshops were the result of a grant for follow-up to the TAA training conducted in 2004. Other principals were Terry Hanson and John Anderson.
·	Terry Hanson continues his work on developing potential insurance products for aquaculture through the Risk Management Agency grant. Several research projects are underway as well as a large disease modeling project. Participants were urged to check the MSU Ag Economics website more information and access to budgets.
·	A series for FISHY 6.0 workshops were planned for this summer in Mississippi and Alabama. FISHY 6.0 is a computer recordkeeping software program.
Greg Whitis – AU
·	Auburn Extension has a Farm Analysis Program available for agricultural producers. There are new faculty members running the program. Currently there are 6-8 catfish farmers utilizing the program. Alabama Farmers Federation supports the program by paying the first $500 of the total cost of $900. One benefit from this program is the labor savings when the farmer takes the tax information to the CPA. Texas A&M has a similar program.

June 6-8, 2004 University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff Attendees: Carole Engle, UAPB; Jimmy Avery, MSU; Brian Nerrie, VSU; Terry Hanson, MSU; Gary Jensen, USDA-CSREES; Sanatan Shreay, UAPB; Steve Pomerleau, UAPB; Jin Kim, USDA ARS; Kwamena Quagrainie, UAPB; Greg O’Neal, UAPB. Facilitator: Kwamena Quagrainie, UAPB Co facilitator: Greg O’Neal, UAPB SESSION SUMMARY: Three areas were discussed:
1.	Production economics and farm management
2.	Marketing and trade
3.	Risk management and diversification.
Production Economics and Farm Management The discussion focused on ways of ensuring profitability on the farm. It was pointed out that maximizing production does not necessarily translate into profitability of the farming operation. For example, in Virginia, it costs producers $1 per lb to produce catfish, but the selling price is $0.70 per lb. Consequently, large producers are venturing into fee fishing and contract processing of their fish. Some of the issues discussed for extension include:
·	Emphasis on both biology and economics in production
·	Importance of good record keeping
·	Extension design to fit different farm sizes
·	Tighter money on farms has created a teachable moment for farmers
·	Importance of helping accountants focus on important biological considerations as well as financial ones
·	Simplified record keeping to stay in line with time constraints
·	Identify issues and data needs in aquaculture and work with NASS in their data gathering process
Marketing and Trade During the general session an issue that came up was a need for economic forecasting in aquaculture. This was discussed with focus on domestic and international markets and trade. It was pointed out that since the seafood market is dependent on imports, issues relating to economic forecast should involve international trade and markets in order to get a good grasp on where the domestic industry is heading. Some of the issues discussed for extension include:
·	Advertising: several comments were made on the impact on sales from TCI’s advertising activities.
·	COOL: country of origin labeling. The group felt that the market is consumer driven and there should be a focus on the retail market where consumers desire new and more information on products.
·	It was revealed that John Ward, an economist with NOAA (Dept. of Commerce) and others are working on trade issues in aquaculture and that some of us could contact them and join in their effort. John Ward also heads a JSA task force charged with developing US aquaculture data reports instead of data reported by the FAO.
·	There are no retail sales data on volume and price for aquaculture products. Wholesale quantity and price data at the processor level are the only published data from USDA. Therefore, we discussed the need for catfish to be added to the traditional market basket of goods by NASS to enable them to collect retail level information. Arrangement to meet and discuss this with NASS will be in order.
·	Suggested the inclusion of input data requirements such as quantity and cost of feed and electricity used on aquaculture facilities as part of issues to discuss with NASS.
·	Group was reminded of a national aquaculture census in 2005 in which we could request inclusion of new data requirements.
Risk Management and Diversification Value added products Discussion focused on need to invest in value-added products because profit margins could come back to producers. A caution was raised on this because most often, value added dollars stop at the grocery store. We discussed the need to know how much of processed catfish products go to the food service and retail outlets. The meeting to be arranged with NASS could include asking them to collect this kind of information. Discussion on brokers and distributors centered on the relative power they have in terms of pricing of processed products and the need for the industry to catch up with the competition. We also identified consumer research as an important area before value-added products can be pursued. One issue that came up was the fact that processing plants are not marketing companies and find it a huge transition to market their products. What they do is mere selling. Unlike catfish, the tilapia industry has a separate marketing center in Miami, FL that markets the product. Alaskan salmon producers have spent millions of dollars to assure quality, pending certification, and create marketing channels. The catfish industry is not set up to conduct marketing and market research therefore, new ventures in value-adding in the past have resulted in processors losing huge amounts of money. The failure rate is high for a new catfish product. Organic aquatic products There is a national work group working on proposing organic standard for aquatic species. New Jersey submitted a proposal on preliminary organic standard research which is likely to be funded. The national work group is also working on a proposal to submit to the national organic program. Land-grant universities were encouraged to join in the research effort on organic. Specie Diversification On this issue, it was pointed out that big head carp growers have been successful through low catfish price periods for some catfish farmers. However, Missouri board of conservation says that Asian carp are a menace and is working on banning production. Some participants voiced concern about the silence of USDA and Extension on this issue. The Ontario government in Canada is reported to be planning to ban carp but they don’t have problems with Arkansas catfish farmers. Extension needs to step up and look at this issue. Arkansas Game & Fish has fought for this for a long period. Update on Aquaculture Insurance Feasibility Studies
·	Various universities have begun conducting verification studies of catfish, baitfish and trout.
·	MSU is studying how to assess catfish losses in ponds.
·	Colorado State is developing some type of disease spread model for aquaculture
·	MSU will conduct a risk/loss survey that will help assess producers' loss history and experience.
·	USDA-NASS will conduct willingness-to-pay survey to gauge producers' attitude about purchasing insurance.
·	A study of potential commodity futures contracts for selected species suggests futures market will not be feasible for aquaculture products.
·	MUS and UAPB are developing a study on risk shifting in the markets for catfish.
·	MSU, University of Wisconsin and APHIS are looking into some disease studies about the use of catfish BMPs, health assessment of fish and effect of migratory birds.

March 29-30, 2000 Louisiana State University Attendees: Terry Hanson, MSU; Jerry Crews, Auburn University; Ben Posadas, MSU; Stuart Dean, MSU; Tommy Gregory, USDA-NASS/MS; Dave Frank, USDA-NASS/LA; Matt Guilbeau, USDA-NASS/LA; Marty Fuller, MSU Facilitator: Not available SESSION SUMMARY: The Economic breakout group discussed the possibility of adding some catfish management/disease/off-flavor type questions to the bi-annual USDA/NASS Catfish Producer surveys. Attending the Economics group meeting were three representatives from USDA-NASS (representing MS and LA) and they explained to the group the process for adding questions to the bi-annual Catfish Producer Surveys. There was a discussion on what types of questions would be acceptable to farmers, the number of questions that could be added (3-5 per survey), and the time frame involved to have additional questions included. As the surveys come out twice a year, discussions focused on what questions were best suited for the January or July survey. It was brought up that there would be problems with recall bias as time lapsed between farmers actions and when they report these actions in the surveys. Management, disease and off-flavor related questions seem to be best suited for the January survey to obtain a year-end analysis. Disease and off-flavor questions also seemed appropriate for the July survey. As farmers would have difficulty in quantifying the deaths of catfish, Tommy Gregory suggested using a scale to describe the disease or bird losses, such as using a “slight / moderate / extreme” response format. With APHIS also conducting a comprehensive catfish farmer management/disease surveys every five years, it was suggested that close coordination between the surveys should be considered to avoid overlap and additional effort on the parts of farmers. NASS/USDA usually discusses the survey questionnaire questions with the CFA before final decisions are made of what questions should be included. It was suggested that Bruce Waggoner of APHIS be conducted to discuss coordination of the two survey efforts and avoid duplication of effort. Bruce had previously stated that he would encourage more dialogue and involvement with catfish researchers in the formulation of survey questions and analysis. Stuart Dean and Terry Hanson are updating a publication on the catfish processing industry and should be finished this summer. Cost models for the catfish processing industry that take into account the tremendous increase in automation taking place in the industry are being developed. Ben Posadas is completing research on the use of constructed wetlands for catfish pond effluent in Eastern Mississippi. He is also completing some enterprise budgeting work for typical hill pond farms in this same portion of the state. Additionally, Ben is conducting research on the use of substrates in freshwater prawn production, so far he has observed increases in production from 800 to 1,200 lb of prawn per acre, which he noted is still below the 2,000 lb/acre production level achieved at Kentucky State University. This summer Ben will begin research into the off-shore underwater redfish cage culture. Marty Fuller challenged the economic subgroup to begin thinking about a process to enumerate the commercial use of USDA-103 catfish once they are released. Can a yield verification program be launched especially for these fish? Jerry Crews suggested that when catfish feed prices return to ‘normal’ (they are very low now), catfish producers will be facing a dilemma as processors are requiring larger fish now than they were five years ago. What if anything can be done to address this future problem? Terry Hanson is finishing an economic analysis of Craig Tucker’s 3-year experiment on copper sulfate usage and its effect on reducing off-flavor occurrences. Findings suggest greater yields and net returns occurred from copper sulfate usage because fewer off-flavor delays in harvesting occurred. During the summer of 2000, the copper sulfate application method used in the experiment will be tried on commercial-scale farms. Also, Hanson reported that data obtained from a farmer survey and processor off-flavor records support the conclusion that diuron use in 1999 did reduce overall off-flavor incidences in Mississippi when compared to 1998 and 1997. Along with Dr. Lisa House, Hanson is also in the midst of developing a nationwide consumer demand survey covering aquacultured fish and shellfish. Cost of catfish production studies continue this year with a comparison cost survey being conducted among participating catfish farmers. Carole Engle, though not at the meeting, sent information on her economic research activities. Her studies include:
·	comparisons of the costs and benefits associated with understocking different sizes of catfish fingerlings in growout ponds,
·	estimating costs of producing stocker catfish on growout farms,
·	economic interactions between stocking and feeding practices in intensive catfish production,
·	farm-level economic effects of cormorant predation on farm-raised catfish,
·	determining the profit-maximizing pond size on levee-style catfish farms,
·	estimating the economic returns to the PD/A CRSP research investment in Thailand,
·	development of Central American markets for Tilapia produced in the region,
·	optimizing stocking and management practices on shrimp farms in Honduras,
·	fingerling cost budgets, and
·	watershed pond catfish production budgets.

March 15-17, 1998 Clemson University Attendees: Participants from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina Facilitator: Carole Engle SESSION SUMMARY: There was some discussion on the lack of participation of economists in the SERA-IEG-9 and the general decline in the number of economists working on aquaculture research and extension issues. There is a need to recruit young economists into this area and to provide encouragement and support to them. Based largely on the Research and Extension Summary Reports, the following aquaculture economics work is being done:
·	Supply estimation. UAPB (Engle and Kouka) has developed a model of catfish supply that estimates wholesale supply within 4%. LSU (Kazrnierzak) independently and using a different approach has also developed a catfish supply model with good predictive power.
·	Catfish price analysis. UAPB (Kouka) has identified key factors in the price transmission process and Auburn (Jolly) has compared different statistical models for evaluating price transmission.
·	Budgets. UAPB (Engle) has updated the 1988 budgets developed by Waldrop at Mississippi State with 1996 values; also has updated Arkansas budgets for catfish farms of either two or four 10-acre ponds; and has published budgets for small-scale catfish production on six 2-acre ponds for direct sales of fish. Baitfish enterprise budgets were also updated. Costs and returns for bighead carp production with and without catfish will be available later this year. LSU (Jeff Gillespie) has updated catfish production cost projections and crawfish costs and returns. He is also working on costs associated with crawfish peeling in Louisiana.
·	Benedict Posadas in Mississippi disseminates monthly wholesale market reports and provides economic, marketing and technical information on major commercial aquaculture species in Mississippi Gulf Coast.
·	Marine species. Florida has completed a survey of live, marine baitfish market in Florida. In the hard clam industry, marketing is a key issue.
·	Florida. David Zimet evaluated biofilter system for intensive tilapia production and of capturing and processing cannonball jellyfish and sponges.
·	UAPB. Evaluating economic returns to investment in shrimp research in Honduras.
Current Issues/Needs
·	There is a need for additional studies and information on the live tilapia market: its potential, size, and new geographic markets. For example, there is a 100,000 lb live tilapia market in Atlanta; tilapia are well known in Georgia and Alabama.
·	There is a need for marketing work on alligators. The market currently is saturated.
·	Processing. In Georgia, processors and producers are too far apart. There is surplus processing capacity, but plants are going out of business due to the lack of supply. Florida has proposed state assistance with transportation of fish from farms to plants. The group also discussed the possibility of a locator or sales desk to assist growers to locate markets. For example, the Georgia Farm Bureau has a grain sales desk, funded by the commissions from sales.
·	Catfish size. The question was raised as to whether the industry should continue to move towards processing a larger fish. It was discussed that processing volumes are limited by the number of fish going through the line; the smaller the fish, the lower the marketable processed volume and the higher the cost. Also, the seafood market trends are towards portion control which requires larger fish. Market forces and processing economics are behind the trend toward larger fish.
·	The group also discussed the importance of uniform quality standards across the industry, particularly with respect to off-flavor.

March 18-20, 1995 Auburn University Attendees: Not available Facilitator: Larry Dorman SESSION SUMMARY:
·	David Cline, Auburn University, reported the cage culture demonstration was progressing. They are currently trying to locate additional niche markets for fish produced. Their main market, a restaurant, has switched suppliers to one of the major processing plants. Prices for their fish remained stable at 85 cents per pound. David reported a need to develop budgets for small scale producers and for alternative species.
·	Jerry Crews reported he was working on the PESCAT guidelines and that there was a need to update enterprise budgets.
·	Larry Dorman, UAPB, reported that Carole Engle had recently attended the Boston Seafood Show and will continue working on the Canned Bighead Carp project and David Brown was working on the Standard Minnow Production Guidelines.
·	Andy Lazur, UFA, reported on the Food Catfish and Bait Project. He reported good markets demands exist for V2 to 3/4 whole catfish, but economics of producing this size fish, as well cultural practices, are not known. He also reported good markets for very large baitfish. They were researching how to grow the large size fish.
·	Forrest Wynne, KSU, reported results were mixed in stocking hybrid striped bass in paylakes and for predator fish in non-drained watershed lakes. Since results were mixed, he reported the experiment will be repeated. Bob Durburow reported better than expected result with freshwater prawn studies. He felt the cooler water may have delayed maturation. He reported niche markets exist for freshwater prawns in Kentucky. He also noted more small scale economic information is needed.
·	Researchers from MSU reported on post harvest dressing of meat left on catfish frames. Researcher reported they were able to recover 30-40 percent edible protein from the frames. The recovered product could be used for fish sticks, "fish balls"; or a surimi-type product. It was also reported that researchers were focusing on niche markets for value added products.
·	Researchers from Clemson reported they were updating enterprise budgets and developing budgets for commercial and recreational cage culture. Researchers reported producers were having trouble selling fish since only one processor exist in the state.
·	Mike Hnatt, TAMU, reported work was continuing on the PESCAT guidelines and data collection sheets. He reported the PESCAT guidelines had been streamline quite a bit since the first draft. James Davis reported on the results of the three-year shrimp research project from west Texas. The material was subject of a dissertation. He said a single crop per year seemed to be the most profitable situation. He added that growers were hurting because of lack of infrastructure. He reported most of the shrimp were marketed in Canada. Dr. Davis also reported that results of the Economics of Effluent Treatment may not be meaningful since every individual unit is so different.
All attendees saw a need for additional economic information in the form of enterprises budgets and small scale production. It would also be helpful for economic information on livehauling fish. No research was reported from Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.

March 9-11, 2003 Texas A&M University Attendees: Not available Facilitator: Not available SESSION SUMMARY:
·	Marty Fuller mentioned the Risk Management project that is evaluating crop insurance for catfish, salmon and trout. He also mentioned the FISHY program will be licensed to the Catfish Farmers of America from MSU.
·	Rebecca Lochmann indicated Carole Engle is evaluating the economic impact of alternative feeding schedules for channel catfish.
·	Forrest Wynne indicated Kentucky State is continuing to investigate production economics of freshwater shrimp.

March 19-20, 2001 Mississippi State University Attendees: Stuart Dean, MSU; Marty Fuller, MSU; Wallace Killcreas, MSU; Carole Engle, UAPB; Doug Bouquet, LSU Facilitator: Not available SESSION SUMMARY:
·	Stuart Dean of Mississippi state opened the meeting with a description of his efforts to update estimates of the costs of processing. He is currently working on the economies of scale in processing. He indicated that there is a trend towards construction of medium-scale plants that consist of about 5-6 automated lines. Each line has a capacity of about 20,000-25,000 lb/day/line. Because the automated lines can be dropped in, smaller plants can almost be as efficient as the larger plants.
·	Marty Fuller discussed the release of the USDA-103 foundation stock. Registered fish have been released to 34 certified and inspected hatcheries in 5 states, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina, and Louisiana. There will be another distribution in December and from there, the program will be an industry-driven program.
·	Wallace Killcreas discussed the new version of Fishy 2000. This latest version is a windows-based program. It allows for grouping ponds into subsets according to either sizes of fish, different diets, different feeding programs, etc. The reports formats have been revised to allow for printing reports according to NASS standards and other formats.
·	At UAPB, efforts continue to identify optimal sizes of catfish to understock in growout ponds. Two studies were conducted to estimate costs of producing fingerlings of different sizes. Values of understocking different sizes of catfish in growout ponds were determined by measuring production performance in ponds stocked with multiple sizes of fish. These data have been used to develop a large dynamic mathematical programming model. This model will allow us to begin to look at allocating ponds to produce either different sizes of fingerlings or in growout at different densities, different sizes of understocked fingerlings and a variety of possible stocking and harvest dates. Studies are underway to develop data on stocker production to include in the model in the future.
·	Doug Bouquet discussed problems in Louisiana related to hesitancy on the part of lending institutions to approve loans for aquaculture.
The group continued to discuss issues related to imports of Vietnamese catfish, and efforts of the Catfish Institute to promote U.S. farm-raised catfish. TCI’s new initiate to promote sales in Canada was also discussed.

March 24-26, 1996 University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff Attendees: Terry Hanson, Michael Masser, Chris Hyde, David Cline, Claude Reeves, AL; Nathan Stone, AR; Andy Lazur, FL; Marty Brunson, Jim Steeby, MSU; Rockie English, SC; Greg Clary, TX; Facilitator: Dave Cline SESSION SUMMARY: Current Research and Extension Activities:
ALABAMA
·	PESCAT - Performance Evaluation Standards for Commercial Catfish Operations. Development and implementation of a program designed to track and identify production practices and their economic effects. Provide a "Report Card" for farmers comparing them to a norm.
	1.	Update catfish production budgets.
	2.	Produce alligator production enterprise budget.
	3.	Provide marketing assistance to small-scale processors and producers looking to diversify.
ARKANSAS
·	PESCAT/BAIT SPECS working with baitfish producers to collect information that can be used to provide a baitfish producers "Report Card". "Growth, Yield and Dress out of Hybrid Bighead-Silver Carp in Fertilized Ponds". Production studies as well as product development.
·	Developing markets for canned and preserved fish, particularly in Hungary and Germany.
FLORIDA
·	Small-scale golden shiner production (large baitfish).
·	New budgets for small-scale catfish production and on-farm processing.
MISSISSIPPI
·	Economic analysis of East MS production, identifying and quantifying the similarities and differences between East MS watershed pond production and Delta-style production.
·	Economic analysis, of constructed wetlands for treating catfish pond effluent.
SOUTH CAROLINA
·	Cooperative effort with Russia - Economic aspects of fish production and caged fish production.
·	Establish marketing links between small-scale producers and end users and the development of appropriate markets.
TEXAS
·	PESCAT - Data collection phase.
·	Working with new catfish processor in NE Texas. New processor has renewed interest in commercial catfish farming.
·	Develop information on the risks associated with marketing agreements.
·	Assist potential producers and bankers with catfish business plans and the financial aspect and risks of catfish farming.
·	Focus for Future Collaborative Research Activities:
·	Determine the effects of HACCP regulations on small-scale (Mom & Pop) processors.
·	Improve marketing strategies, particularly for small-scale producers.

March 13-15, 1994 Texas A&M University Attendees: Four participants from three states Facilitator: Dr. Jerry Crews SESSION SUMMARY: A brief overview was given by attendees regarding projects currently being conducted:
·	Supply response model - focusing on how and when producers respond to signals in the market.
·	Effluent project - evaluation of alternative treatment/handling/distribution methods to address effluents in various pond cultures.
·	Surface water storage - evaluation of dual-purpose reservoirs/ponds for irrigation and fish production.
·	Traditional programs - feasibility studies of new enterprises; developing business loan proposals; micro-management strategies (stocking, feeding, etc.).
·	Priority areas for future work:
·	Work toward an organized symposium at the World Aquaculture Society meetings - possibly focusing on marketing.
·	SRAC project - to develop a Standardized Performance Analysis that integrates production and financial/economic performance data. Should provide a basis to identify both production and financial areas that are most influential in affecting profitability. Benchmark data will be established whereby comparative analysis can be made by year, farm type, size and region.
·	Measuring economic impact of consumer information or misinformation related with many of the food safety and quality assurance issues.
·	Economic impact of bird depredation - estimating the value/cost of bird depredation by type operation and species of bird to establish economic thresholds given the number/type bird, value of fish and control methods.
·	Structural change in the catfish industry - measuring the affects of external constraints; i.e. national policies, environmental regulations, etc. Will they collectively influence the direction and structure of the industry?

March 15-17, 1998 Clemson University

March 24-26, 1996 University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff