Fish Farming May Offer Tobacco Growers an Option

Source from:  By Sherry Youngquist JOURNAL REPORTER 06/28/2005

Stokes man's love of koi, a colorful, ornamental fish, led him to switch to aquaculture After growing up on a tobacco farm, Ron Stroud wasn't exactly looking to make a living off the land when he got out the Army about 10 years ago. But after spending some free time in Japan, he fell in love with an ornamental strain of fish, called koi, that now keeps him in business back here in the states. He has eight ponds that yield fish ranging in size from 2 to 25 inches and require 240 pounds of feed a day. Ornamental-fish farming is a small segment of North Carolina's aquaculture, but the profit margin can be high - possibly high enough that state officials hope that other former tobacco producers might consider commercial fish production as a viable option to replace the golden leaf. Koi, which are colorful carp, can grow to be about 3 feet long and fetch thousands of dollars. Stroud also sells some goldfish - comets and fan-tails - but the demand is highest for koi, he said. "It's just the friendliness of them," said Stroud, the owner of Tar Heel Fish Farm in Walnut Cove. "You go out to Japan, and they're everywhere. They'll come out of the water and into your hands." Like Stroud, more than 250 people in North Carolina have been issued licenses for pond and tank aquaculture. The majority of aquaculture in the state is in fish raised to be eaten, such as catfish, trout and hybrid striped bass. "The trout industry in Western North Carolina is a relatively mature industry," said Debra Sloan, an aquaculture specialist for the N.C. Department of Agriculture in Franklin. She said that some industry pioneers have been in business well over 30 years. In the mid-1980s, the industry grew quickly, but in the 1990s some farms closed because profit margins were small, as they still are. Though the agricultural department could not say exactly how many fish farms are producing koi and other ornamental species, Sloan said that the level of interest among potential producers is growing. "I think it's competitive and could be a growing market," Sloan said. "Ornamentals, yes, sell for a much higher price. It's very intensive. They have to do a lot of sorting in order to get the colors they need to satisfy their market." Stroud keeps some of his most prized koi in a pond near his home, and each spring, he selects breeders from this group that he thinks will produce the best colors. He places two males with a female in a separate pond and spawning usually occurs within days. The female lays eggs on coconut-fiber mats that Stroud has placed in the pond. He collects the eggs, which can number as much as 500,000, and quickly places them into another pond. There, the baby fish (called fry) stay until he separates them. Those with the best colors - mainly oranges and yellows - as well as striking patterns will make it to a grow pond. "What it is, is the bloodline," said Stroud of the varying colors and patterns of koi. "I go to Japan because there is a better selection." The most Stroud has paid for a fish is $800. "It was about six to eight inches about four years ago," he said. "Now, it's in excess of 25 inches and valued at $4,000 to $5,000." Enditem