The earliest commercial attempts to raise channel
catfish were in Arkansas from about 1955 to 1965. A
rapid increase in acreage but relatively inefficient
production practices characterized the initial phase of
development. In 1960, the country had an estimated 164
acres of commercial catfish ponds. A 1963 survey
estimated 2,370 acres in commercial production and by
1969 there were an estimated 40,000 acres. Commercial
culture of food-sized catfish began in Mississippi in
1965. By 1973, the state had more than 4,000 acres
producing food fish, primarily in the northwest region
known as the Delta.