Introduction

Aquaculture has experienced dramatic growth in recent years. Demand has increased as a result of nutritional concerns and rising income. Supply from capture fisheries has increased slowly, largely reflecting constant gross catch with improved utilization efficiency. Much of the growth of aquaculture has been driven largely by the deficit from capture fisheries. An estimated 25% of shrimp, 27% of salmon, and 98% of catfish consumption in the US is farm-raised, not captured from the wild (Miller). Feed utilization is another source of uncertainty for the manager of an aquacultural production facility because the amount of feed actually consumed by the fish can be observed in a qualitative way as they come to the surface to feed, but can not be known with much precision. Aquaculture's ability to provide a consistent high quality standardized product for large commercial markets has made it attractive for institutional markets.