As the largest foodfish aquaculture industry in the United States
(Harvey, 2006), the catfish industry has been challenged recently with
global competition and increased costs of feed and fuel (USDA-NASS,
2011). A number of efforts, including hybrid production, are being implemented
by catfish farmers to deal with those challenges. By fertilizing
eggs of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) with sperm from blue
catfish (Ictalurus furcatus), hybrid catfish can be produced with improvements
in growth rate, disease resistance and feed conversion
(Dunham and Masser, 2012). Although hybrid catfish are currently in
high demand by the industry, the production capacity for hybrids is