FARMED FISH 



Keeping Catfish 

 Down on the Farm 



Channel Catfish 



Ictalurus punctatus 



By Kathy Hart 



Below the Mason-Dixon line where 

 grits, fried chicken and iced tea reign king, 

 there's no truer sign of regional cooking 

 than a plate heaped high with golden fried 

 catfish, cornmeal hush puppies and french 

 fries. 



In fact, true Southerners, those born 

 and reared in the heart of Dixie, make 

 pilgrimages to family-style fish camps 

 perched on banks of muddy rivers to feed 

 their cravings for this fried catch. 



Outside of the South, the catfish's 

 image doesn't fare so well. In other areas, 

 the whiskered finfish is seen as a lowly 

 river-bottom scavenger, whose muddy 

 flavor makes it unfit for the table. 



But people who think catfish aren't 

 good eating haven't run their taste buds 

 across a mild-flavored, farm-raised fillet 

 fresh from the oven. 



Yes, aquaculture has taken the catfish 

 from the river bottom to the farm pond, 

 making it a delectable choice at up-scale 

 restaurants, in supermarket seafood 

 counters and on the plates of a growing 

 number of Americans. 



In fact, channel catfish are the most 

 successful aquaculture species in the 

 United States. In 1989, 340 million pounds 

 of the finfish were seined from farm ponds 

 located mainly in the Mississippi Delta. 



But as the popularity and use of the 

 delicately flavored fish grows, so does 

 interest in its culture. And North Carolina 

 farmers and entrepreneurs, quick to see the 

 merit and possible profitability of catfish 

 culture, are adding more ponds to the Tar 

 Heel landscape. 



In North Carolina, catfish growers have 

 about 1,200 acres of ponds in production. 

 Last year, these ponds yielded 2 1 2 million 

 pounds of catfish; this year, the harvest is 

 expected to weigh in at 4 million pounds, 

 says Tom Ellis, director of aquaculture and 

 natural resources for the N.C. Department 

 of Agriculture. 



Large producers of catfish in North 

 Carolina consider the culture of the finfish a 

 full-time business. Their ponds measure 

 from 10 to 20 acres, are stocked with 5,000 

 or more fish per acre and are intensely 

 managed to maintain good water quality, to 

 promote growth and to prevent disease. 



Others raise catfish as a hobby or 

 source of supplemental income. 



Channel catfish is the species of choice 

 for most culturists in North Carolina and 

 other states. Other species can be raised 

 but don't produce high yields. 



Most Tar Heel catfish growers are 

 specializing in grow-out production. They 

 stock their ponds with young catfish, called 

 fingerlings, that measure 5 to 7 inches in 

 length. Then they raise the finfish to a 

 harvest size of 1 1/4 to 2 pounds, says 

 Steve Rawls, an area aquaculture specialist 

 with the N.C. Cooperative Extension 

 Seivice. 



Neil and Diane Bowen, owners of 

 Swindell Fish Famis in Pantego, have just 

 finished harvesting the second crop of 

 catfish from their 48 acres of ponds and are 

 ready for their third stocking of fingerlings. 



Neil says the couple has learned a lot 

 about fish production and hard work since 

 beginning their operation two years ago. 



"A lot of people think you throw those 

 little fish in the pond and then go back 

 nine months later and harvest them," Neil 

 says. "There's a lot more to it than that." 



6 JULY/AUGUST 1991 



