From March until November, the 

 prime growing season for catfish, the 

 Bowens spend long days keeping their 

 ponds in top shape for their fishy crop. 



They watch the levels of oxygen, 

 nitrite, ammonia and pH in the ponds. 

 They check their fish for diseases, which 

 are common in intensive culture situations. 

 And they keep an eye on the blooms of 

 algae that color the water. Algae die-off in 

 a pond can deplete the oxygen faster than 

 a Southerner can say aquaculture. 



"Water quality is our biggest concern," 

 Neil says. "Any stress, particularly low 



"As our estuaries and 

 sounds and the fish that 

 live in them are poisoned 

 with pollution, more 

 people are going to 

 turn to the quality and 

 assurance offered by 

 farm-raised fish ." 

 Neil Bo wen 



dissolved oxygen, can cause fish to die. 

 That's why in the summer I'm at the ponds 

 until twelve, one or two in the morning 

 moving aerators and checking DO 

 (dissolved oxygen) levels." 



Do the Bowens regret the day they 

 dug their first pond? 



"Absolutely not," Neil says. "We plan 

 to hold at the acreage we have for awhile, 

 then expand in a couple of years. We 

 could potentially have 1,000 to 1,200 acres 

 of ponds in production." 



Neil's enthusiasm for catfish lies in the 

 profitability of the crop. 



"It's much more profitable than 

 growing corn, beans and wheat," he says. 

 "On farmland, you make about $200 an 

 acre year in and year out. With catfish, you 



can make $200 to $1,500 an acre." 



But poor management or a quirk of 

 fate can just as easily send your bank 

 account tumbling. 



And the Bowens caution that it can 

 take a few years of production to pay back 

 the start-up costs. 



Rawls and Ellis agree. Both tell 

 potential growers that catfish culture can 

 be profitable, but there are also a lot of 

 costs, especially in the beginning. 



In some cases, investors must pur- 

 chase land, dig ponds, acquire equipment 

 and buy fingerlings. Farmers, switching 



from the plow to the pond, sometimes 

 come out cheaper because they already 

 own land and some of their equipment 

 can be converted. 



"I quickly tell people interested in 

 investing in catfish that it is expensive and 

 has limitations," Ellis says. "I'd rather they 

 be discouraged from the first than invest 

 their life savings blindly." 



Ellis also tells potential producers to 

 line up a market for their catfish before 

 they "move any dirt for their first pond." 



"There is a saying in the seafood 

 business I always use," Ellis says. "It goes 

 'If you don't sell 'em, you smell 'em' " 



The Bowens are contract growers for 

 Carolina Classic Catfish Inc., the only large 

 catfish processor in the state. All of the 



product they harvest is sold to the 

 company for processing in its Ayden plant. 



In fact, most North Carolina catfish 

 producers have contracts with Carolina 

 Classic, a company dedicated to a high 

 quality product, Ellis says. 



And when it comes to competing with 

 all those catfish marketed from the Mississ- 

 ippi Delta, quality is the factor that sets Tar 

 Heel catfish apart, Ellis says. 



Catfish harvested from the delta often 

 have an off-flavor, which can be attributed 

 to poor quality water. But that's not the 

 case in North Carolina. 



So what does the 

 future hold for this 

 whiskered finfish? 



Ellis predicts that 

 in five years at least 

 5,000 acres of ponds 

 will be in production. 

 He's had five inquiries 

 from processors 

 considering the 

 possibility of locating 

 plants in North 

 Carolina. And Southern 

 States Cooperative Inc. 

 is investing S3 million 

 in its Farmville feed 

 plant to install equip- 

 ment that will produce 

 catfish feed. 

 Neil Bowen is looking expectantly to 

 the future too. 



"My wife and I think we got into this 

 business on the ground floor," he says. 

 "We really believe catfish and aquaculture 

 is the hope for the future. 



"As our estuaries and sounds and the 

 fish that live in them are poisoned with 

 pollution, more people are going to turn to 

 the quality and assurance offered by farm- 

 raised fish." s. 



For infomiation on catfish 

 culture and production, contact 

 Tom Ellis at the N.C. Department 

 of Agriculture (919/733-7125). 



COASTWATCH 7 



