4.1. Broodstock
It is evident that a large number of striped catfish hatcheries
tended to maintain a large number of fish as potential broodstock,
with only a small proportion being used for seed production in a given
year. Our communications with hatchery owners suggest that this is
done more as an “insurance” for possible losses of potential broodstock
and also because demand for seed is very variable from season
to season and year to year. Maintenance of large inventories of
broodstock could have a variety of impacts and represent a potential
high opportunity cost. However, hatchery owners confirmed that
maintenance costs for pre-conditioned broodstock were limited,
involving only pond space and limited feeding, often with aquatic
plants and household waste material.