Aquaculture center consolidates catfish programs

Mississippi State's support for the catfish industry reached a new milestone with the July 1 dedication of the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center.

The facility, located at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, houses scientists and support staff from the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and aquaculture specialists from the Mississippi State University Extension Service. A diagnostic center run by MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine also is located at the Cochran Center.

Catfish harvest research is an important part of the work at the center.

"Information developed at the Cochran Center will benefit catfish production throughout the southern United States," said Jim Smith, head of the Delta Research and Extension Center. "All areas need research because commercial catfish production is still a relatively young industry."

Mississippi, with more than 110,000 acres of catfish ponds, produces 60 percent of the nation's catfish.

"The industry has a $2.5 billion annual impact on the state's economy, with most of the production within a 60-mile radius of Stoneville," Smith added.

The facility has made it easier for anyone in the catfish industry to find the information they need, according to Cochran Center coordinator Ed Robinson.

"We serve as the point of coordination to the total aquaculture program at Mississippi State," he said.

Robinson added that research at the center focuses on all aspects of catfish production- including disease control, nutrition, water quality, and the engineering aspects of harvesting and feeding. Research also is being conducted on catfish genetics and fish behavior.

Construction on the $5.5 million building started in October 1996. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning voted in 1997 to name the facility after U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). Cochran was instrumental in the growth and success of the aquaculture industry in the Mississippi Delta. He also spearheaded efforts to secure funds for the center.