Economic analysis of common snook, Centropomus undecimalis, cultured in floating cages in southern Brazil

The economic viability of common snook culture was evaluated from a simulated marine farm with 20 cages of 225m³, with a production cycle of two years, fish with a final weight of 500g and annual production of 45 tons. To scale the production costs, the effectve operating cost (EOC), total operating cost (TOC), total production cost (TPC) were considered. The indices for evaluating profitability were the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), the Return on Capital (RC) and the Net Present Value (NPV). The TPC was USD $305,820 year-1, with USD $6.79 kg-1. Sensitivity analysis by the variation of the feed conversion rate (FCR) reinforces the importance of good production practices, such as adequate food management, use of balanced diets. The factors: juvenile price, feed cost and sales price, more dependent on the market, require a greater ability of the producer to apply commercial and marketing strategies to contain the production cost and avoid the reduction of the sales price. The high cost of installing culture structures and management equipment suggests projects with a minimum rate of attractiveness of 23%, minimum volume of 6,500m³, productivity of 20kg m-³, annual production of 65 tons, FCR below 1.6 and marketing price above USD$8.39 kg-1.