Like any other business, fish farms must produce, at a profit, a marketable product.
Fish farmers located outside of major aquaculture areas must work doubly hard to be sure that their resources are suitable for what they wish to produce and to build their own markets from the ground up.
In major aquaculture areas, there are processors and other established markets for certain products. Many prospective fish farmers want to concentrate all their time and effort on growing fish, but often it is the marketing of their product that determines success or failure.
This is especially true if new markets will have to be developed for the final product.
This has even been true for those selling to established processing plants. A new fish farmer must consider what to do if the intended processor goes bankrupt, as many have.
Consequently, plan to spend a considerable amount of time and energy developing primary and secondary markets for products, and be ready for all possibilities.
Catfish:
are the major aquaculture product in the South. Production is centered in Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana, although smaller industries exist in most other southern states. Catfish production is divided into fingerling production and food fish production.
Many producers specialize in one or the other. Key requirements for levee pond catfish farms include 25 gallons per minute of water for each surface acre of pond and land suitable for levee ponds as described in the previous section.
The investment needed ranges from $3,000 to $5,000 per surface acre, excluding land costs. Key land and water requirements for watershed pond catfish farms include those listed for watershed ponds in the previous section. The investment needed ranges from $2,000 to $4,000 per surface acre, excluding land costs.
Crawfish:
production is centered in Louisiana and eastern Texas, although there are small farms scattered throughout the South. The red swamp and white river species of crawfish are the most commonly cultured. Key requirements for these and other burrowing species include heavy clay soils and 70 to 100 gallons per minute of water per surface acre of pond. Flat sites are needed to allow economical pond construction.
The hand labor needed to empty and reset traps daily during the harvest season may be difficult to obtain outside of major crawfish production areas. An investment of approximately $90,000 is required for a 40-acre crawfish farm, excluding land costs.
Baitfish:
production consists mainly of golden shiners and smaller amounts of fathead minnows and goldfish. Arkansas dominates baitfish production. Key requirements include a site suitable for levee ponds and 20 or more gallons of water per minute per surface acre. The investment required for a 160-acre baitfish farm is $720,000.
Largemouth bass, bluegill and other sport fish fingerlings:
are widely produced for stocking recreational fishing ponds. Key requirements include land and water resources suitable for levee or watershed ponds. Special skills are required to handle, protect and provide food for very young fish. Experience in producing large fish is usually obtained before the production of fingerlings is attempted.
Rainbow trout:
farming in the South centers in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee and northern Georgia where water from mountain streams is diverted to flow through concrete raceways and tanks. A small farm is considered to be one with a water flow of 500 gallons per minute. The establishment cost required for such a small farm is approximately $26,000 excluding land costs.
Striped bass, hybrid striped bass and red drum:
for food are newly developing species for fish culture. Farms are concentrated along coastal areas. Levee pond culture predominates with some interest in flow through and recirculating systems. Water should have an alkalinity of 100 mg/l or more.
Tropical aquarium fish:
for the pet market are raised mainly in Florida because of the favorable climate. Both small earthen ponds and recirculating systems are used. The conditions required to spawn and rear tropical aquarium fish can be difficult to provide. Requirements vary from species to species and information may be difficult to obtain.
Other species:
may be feasible for individual situations. Some species, however, may never be developed beyond the experimental stage. Many types of fish and shellfish are uneconomical or impossible to produce because of lack of proven feeds or fingerling rearing techniques or other technical problems.
Tried and proven forms of fish farming are the best methods for beginners. There is no easy money to be made in aquaculture. If someone offers something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Author:
Marley Beem
