Development of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) Culture

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is native to North America. It was introduced into Taiwan (China) in the mid 1970s, and following successful artificial propagation in 1983 was introduced into Guangdong in mainland China. This species is now distributed throughout the country and has become a major freshwater product in Chinese aquaculture. M. salmoides is well accepted by farmers due to its many advantages that include its suitability to a wide variety of culture environments, fast growth, ease of handling, and short culture cycle. After 30 years of development, there is a large-scale M. salmoides aquaculture industry in China with clear division according to the market requirements. This chapter discusses the major cultivation regions and artificial propagation models for M. salmoides. It explains the M. salmoides culture techniques and the key factors affecting the development of the industry.