Here's the actual study:
Hayward, R. S., and H. P. Wang. 2006.
Rearing male bluegills indoors may be advantageous for producing food-size sunfish. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 37:496-508
The study makes significant contributions to the aquaculture/food production side of things. What irks me is the tone of the press release. The author of the press release is a regional biologist with Missouri and should know better than to extrapolate data from a lab study (with specific goals) and merge it with a farm pond scenario. This is misleading and confusing to the common pond owner- who just happen to be the target audience of these types of press releases.
Interestingly, I was never under the impression that fast growth by hybrid bluegills was a myth. Like Bill said, both fish have their place. This press release took an ounce of information a delivered a ton. From a scientific standpoint, you just can't do that without mentioning assumptions and telling the whole story.
