2005 Annual Report 4d.Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a specific cooperative agreement between ARS and the Aquaculture/Fisheries Center, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent CRIS 6228-41630-003-00D. Research is on-going and addresses objectives of the ARS Project Plan "Improved Warm Water Aquaculture Products and Technologies." Development and Application of New Molecular Diagnostics for Improving Biosecurity in Aquaculture: Our studies of goldfish herpesvirus (GHNV) have demonstrated that GHNV is an important and widespread pathogen of goldfish, that it most likely persists in fish in a latent form, and that it is extremely difficult to prevent vertical transmission of the virus even when eggs are disinfected and well water is used in the hatchery. Other specific accomplishments include: A PCR assay has been developed for FHMRV Primers for the qPCR of CGRV have been developed and testing is underway New PCR and qPCR assays for goldfish herpesvirus (GHNV) have been developed Hundreds of fish have been tested for GHNV Consumer Acceptance of New Value-Added Products and Price Discovery Mechanisms: The Case of New Channel Catfish Products: An initial round of experimental auction has been conducted in Little Rock. We plan to do more auctions in Pine Bluff, Northwest Arkansas, Northeast Arkansas, and Southwest Arkansas to obtain enough data that covers all relevant demographics. Development and Testing of New Fish Farming Equipment: The concept of the loading platform and crowder boat refinements have been developed and work on the design has been initiated. Effect of Periodic Precision Grading During the Production Season: Twelve 0.1-ha earthen ponds were each stocked with 2,273 kg/ha channel catfish (0.45 kg) and 16,250 fingerlings/ha 12.7 cm fish in March 2005. Two samples to measure fish growth and one partial harvest have been completed to date. Determination of Effects of Fish Density and Temperature on Growth of Commercial Freshwater Baitfish Species: Ponds were stocked in triplicate with tank-hatched golden shiner fry at 1.24, 2.47, 3.71, and 4.94 million per hectare. This study was harvested on July 12-14, 2005 and data analysis is underway. Development of Practical Diets for Largemouth Bass with Emphasis on Non-Fish Protein and Lipid Sources: Fatty acid composition of liver and muscle, hematological parameters and lysozyme and alternative complement activity of largemouth bass are being compared from fish fed diets with no fishmeal (by substituting poultry by-product meal) and with varying sources of lipids. 7.List your most important publications in the popular press and presentations to organizations and articles written about your work. (NOTE: List your peer reviewed publications below). Goodwin, A., Merry, G. 2005. Diagnosis of Goldfish Hematopoietic Ecrosis (Cyprinid herpesvirus. 2)by Quantitative PCR [abstract]. Proceedings of the Eastern Fish Health Workshop, June 15, 2005, Shepherdstown, WV. p. 38.