Cost, returns, and economies of scale for small, medium and large catfish farms with recirculating ponds are presented for the upper Texas coast. Internal rates of return are 0.150, 0.183 and 0.219, respectively. Total investment is higher than farms with static ponds but investment per unit production capacity is 7 percent to 16 percent lower. Average total cost per pound is between $0.565 and $0.541, (11 percent - 20 percent lower than farms using current technology). These results have implications for regional comparative advantage of catfish production as well as incentive for adoption of new technology in conventional ponds.