. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. 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,"
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. 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 ; 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) ; 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 ; 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 ; 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
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
