Getting Into Catfish Farming – II

Marketing

A marketing plan should be the first step taken when one is considering catfish production. No profits are made until your crop of fish is sold. Catfish are sold in all forms of their life stages. Egg masses are sold by the pound, and the price changes annually depending on the supply or success of local hatcheries in spawning fish.

Catfish fry are sold by the piece, and fingerling fish longer than 1-inch are usually sold singly by the inch up to about six or eight inches; longer fish may be sold by the pound. Food fish are normally three-fourths to two pounds in weight and are sold by the pound. Some specialty markets exist for brood fish, especially if they are an improved or selected strain. Albino catfish are a novelty sometimes sought by fee-fishing operations or the aquarium trade.

Retail Markets

Retail marketing is practiced mostly by smaller, commercial farms. The small farms usually cannot take advantage of discounts for bulk purchases of feed and seed stock. Production costs per pound of fish produced are usually higher than those of larger farms because of the economy of scale. Ponds are often smaller and more costly to build per acre. Profits may be low if fish are sold to a processor wholesale market. Retail prices are usually influenced by local competition, if any, and advertising is usually required to be successful. Fish are sold undressed or live through fee-fishing ponds, out of holding tanks or when harvested. Fish can be sold off trucks in areas where there is demand.

Other retail markets include local stores and restaurants. They usually want processed fish delivered on a regular basis. This means regular harvesting and the ability to hand-process fish.

Retail markets also exist for the sale of catfish fingerlings or stocker fish. These fish are marketed primarily to people who have recreational or farm ponds. A higher price is usually obtained compared to wholesale sales to commercial farms. Advertising is required, and live fish need to be transported and delivered to the customer?s pond. This can be a good business; a quality product and good service are required. It is preferable to be in an area where farm ponds are numerous.

Economics

Taking the plunge into catfish farming should be done only after careful economic planning. This may not be as complicated as you think. A good way to start is to list the income and expenses you expect. First, consider the income your fish farming operation will produce. Generally this means estimating the amount of fish you will produce and the price you will receive for them.

Next, make a list of the expendable items you will need to buy each year to produce your fish. This will include feed, fingerlings, labor, fuel, electricity, equipment, repair, interest on borrowed money, etc. These are your variable costs.

Finally, make a list of costs for everything associated with machinery. These are your fixed costs. Examples include pond construction, wells, pumps, trucks, feed bins, tractors, aerators and buildings. Do not overlook the cost of buildings, tractors or other equipment that is already purchased. They should be charged off some each year of the expected life since they will eventually need to be replaced. Equipment used for other jobs on the farm also needs to be partially charged so each enterprise can stand on its own.

One major reason to estimate income and expenses is to be able to project your return or profit. Another use of the same numbers is to project a break-even cost for what you produce. To get these critical numbers you will need to organize your information into a form known as an enterprise budget. Your numbers are already divided into three lists: income, variable costs and fixed costs.

Do not get discouraged if the estimated return is tiny or even negative. The first budget is just a starting point. Consider ways to reduce your costs. Doing your own pond construction work with used equipment could reduce pond construction costs by half.

Another way to reduce costs would be to use your own funds instead of borrowing.

Pond Site Selection

Subsoils. A suitable pond site should have a soil type and composition that holds water economically. The soil should contain preferably at least 20% to 30% clay by weight to minimize seepage. Areas with pockets of gravel, rock fissures or sand should be avoided.

Topography. The topography is the lay of the land. It can be flat or hilly. The topography determines the amount of dirt that has to be moved and also the size of the pond. The topography around ponds should permit drainage by gravity flow during any season. Make sure that ponds do not block drainage
from a neighbor’s land or interfere or cause any damage off your property. Good drainage is important because eventually ponds will require complete draining for repairs, maintenance and to reestablish
fish inventories.

Water Supply. Catfish are raised under various management levels using different sources of water. The intensive production of catfish requires a dependable year-round supply of water. Water pumped from surface waters in rivers or streams is less desirable for intensive production, but must often be used in many situations. Activities upstream or in the watershed can contaminate the water and silt loads often are heavy. Undesirable wild fish are more apt to enter ponds, and disease transmission is more likely.

General Location. Take precautions if the site is in a flood plain or low-lying area. Severe flooding can damage levees and ruin a fish crop. Wild fish may enter ponds through open drainpipes, and pond draining may be impossible during times of flooding.

Stocking

Fingerlings six inches or longer are stocked into growout ponds with the goal of producing a market-sized fish. The number of fish stocked at this final stage in the production cycle varies widely. Factors that determine a suitable stocking rate include amount of time that the producer can spend with the fish, experience of the producer, desired fish size at harvest, maximum daily feeding limit, availability of water and aeration equipment, and length of culture period.

The size of fish desired at harvest should be acceptable to customers and economical to produce. A good money-making fish for the producer is a fish weighing between 0.5 – 0.79 kilo that converts feed efficiently, gains weight well and does not take too long to produce.

Feeding

Feeding is the most important task in the intensive pond production of catfish. In a normal situation, catfish can be seen only when they are coming up to feed, and their feeding behavior can be an important clue to general health and the pond condition. Potential problems with the fish or pond water quality can be recognized early by noticing abnormal feeding behavior.

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