At 550 million pounds of annual production, more U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is produced in the U.S. each year than all other farmed fish combined.

The distance from the growing region to Toronto, ON is slightly shorter than that from the Atlantic Ocean and about 2.5 times shorter than from the Pacific Ocean to Toronto.

Farm-raising this catfish in Canada is not feasible for two main reasons�weather and infrastructure. U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish are grown in the southern U.S. because the consistent warm weather allows harvesting of catfish throughout the year. Also, catfish grow more quickly during the warmer months because this is when they prefer to feed. This provides Canadians with a constant supply at consistent prices. Because the industry has created hundreds of farms over the past 30 years with feed mills and processing plants located nearby, the scope of these farming operations creates cost-savings that are passed on to consumers.

Each farm includes ponds about four to eight hectares in size and one to two metres deep. Some farms are up to 1,000 hectares in size, and the industry across four states includes 56,000 hectares of ponds in production.

Most of this land was converted from cotton growing fields due to the ideal clay-based soils for the ponds. Each pond is maintained with pure, fresh water that is naturally-sourced from underground aquifers.

There are really only two kinds of catfish being consumed in North America: U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish and wild catfish.

Only genuine U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish has the backing of several health and environmental organizations in North America and is grown, harvested, processed and shipped according to stringent TCI, Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of Commerce regulations, inspections and tastings. These are considered among the world�s toughest aquaculture regulations.