An Alabama university has developed a manually fertilised artificial hybrid catfish that is designed to grow faster than its slow maturing natural cousins, probably boosting the profits of the US southern state’s US$500m catfish growing industry.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Following 30 years of work, Auburn University researchers cross-fertilised two species that do not naturally mate – the female channel catfish and a male blue catfish. They also created an artificial fertilisation technique that could create hybrids on a commercial scale. The artificial species also has a smaller head allowing for more meat. Its fast growth cuts the waiting time for fish to become a marketable size. The hybrid will initially be grown in Alabama.
