hours a day, especially during the 

 summer." 



Because of his pioneering efforts with 

 hybrid bass, Brothers has become a gum 

 to others who wish to follow in his 

 footsteps. 



But new producers mean new 

 competition. And competition means 

 lower prices. 



"I developed my markets by trial and 

 error and mostly on the telephone," 

 Brothers says. "Over a period of years, I've 

 gotten good markets, and I try to hold on 

 to them. But there's one thing I can't 

 change, and that's the price. If more 

 people are selling fish, the price is going 

 down." 



When he started, Brothers was getting 

 about S3. 50 per pound for his fish. Today, 

 it's about S2.45. 



Brothers' competition comes mostly 

 from people he's known all his life. 



People like Nancy Tyndall. 



"Farming is a tight business," says the 

 34-year-old Tyndall, sitting in a restaurant 

 she owns next to Highway 33. "You've got 

 to diversify. There's no way to make a 

 good living from just selling beans, 



"It's one of those projects 

 that Sea Grant took a 

 chance on back in the 



late 1970's , and it 

 turned into something. " 

 Ron Hodson 



potatoes and com." 



She's convinced her dad and mom 

 and three brothers to set aside about 200 

 acres of the family farm for hybrid bass 

 grow-out ponds. 



The first of an expected 60 ponds was 

 finished May 10 and filled with 50,000 

 fingerlings in mid-June. 



From here, the sky's the limit. Tyndall 



says. 



"Sure, it's a big investment," she says. 

 "But from all we've checked into, the 



Holding tanks at the Pamlico Aqitaculture Center, Aurora, N.C 



rewards will be great. It should pay off. 

 That's why we're doing it." 



Tom Ellis agrees. 



As the N.C. Department of 

 Agriculture's director of aquaculture and 

 natural resources, Ellis sees a bright future 

 for hybrid striped bass in the Tar Heel 

 state. 



"We've got about 75 ponds in 

 production right now, and we're going to 

 see that number grow significantly." he 

 says. He expects about 150 ponds by this 

 fall and 400 by next fall. Ponds average 

 from three to six acres. 



"And I think it's safe to say that this 

 will increase even though the price per 

 pound will go down," he says. 



Ellis says the current rush to get into 

 hybrid bass production will ease over the 

 next few years, especially as the "less 

 efficient people fall out" of the market- 

 place. 



Most hybrid striped bass fanners in 

 North Carolina purchase their fingerlings 

 from hatcheries in other states, including 

 Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee. 



In North Carolina, only the Brothers 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 3 



