If you want to see a lot of sunrises, fish farming is the life for you. It's an early call on Mondays, probably between 3-4 a.m. There are literally scores of boxes of fish to be shipped. The efficient shipping room works like an assembly line. One group of people net the fish from tanks or vats. While this is being done, others are seeing to it that bags are filled with water, placed in styros, and ready to receive fish. Coding of the holding facilities and boxes is necessary to ensure that a customer receives the right fish in the appropriate quantities.
There is a standard number of any given item that is shipped in a single box bag. Employees must count out the fish or have them previously tanked in the correct numbers. For instance, the pack on a box of swordtails is normally 250, while platies, being smaller, can be increased to 300. Tetras pack according to the species, as do barbs, gouramis and cichlids. Larger fish always receive lighter packs.
Slipping away from the packing area, we travel outside to see dawn breaking over the ponds. Conditions can change drastically in a pond overnight, and now that the light is adequate it is time to "walk the ponds." This procedure is followed every morning and it is troubleshooting at its best.
Many farms aerate their ponds at night to minimize the risk of low dissolved oxygen levels. Heavily stocked ponds can "turn over" in a matter of hours and kill virtually every fish. If fish are hanging at the surface when you approach, it is a sign that serious consequences may occur unless immediate action is taken.
It's important to know what type of fish is in every pond, how long they have been there and what the approximate numbers are. Once the entire field has been carefully scrutinized, those ponds requiring care must be given attention.
The shipping room is bringing its operation to a close by 7:00 a.m. so the fish can be transported to the airport. Assuming it has been light for awhile, it's time to feed the method. The quality and composition of the soil is also a major concern. If the land a farm sits on is too low or too high, there may be flooding or inadequate seepage, respectively. But what about the water itself — where does it come from?
Fish farms live or die on the quality and quantity of water that is available to them. This water is provided by large-diameter wells that are very expensive to drill. When a piece of property is under consideration for farming, a test well is usually drilled in order to check the water supply. Holding fish in ponds or vats requires a constant supply of running water and water dependability is crucial to success.
Even though fish farmers have control over location, soil and water, they can't change the weather. They
can change how the weather affects the fish crop, however, by covering ponds with a greenhouse-like structure. Thus, most fish can be saved, even during a severe winter. The ability to raise fish in ponds all year long is one of the keys to production of top quality fish. A long-term, stable environment means a longer and more even growth period for all types of fish.
Now, you can expect to see large, healthy, colorful fish all year long rather than seasonally. Certainly, the supply is greater at some times than others, but this usually translates into lower prices for the same fish.
Comments
Post a Comment