WALNUT COVE, N.C After growing up on a tobacco farm, Ron Stroud wasn't exactly
looking to make a living off the land when he got out the Army about
10 years ago.
But after spending some free time in Japan, he fell in love with an
ornamental strain of fish, called koi, that now keeps him in business
back here in the states. He has eight ponds that yield fish ranging in
size from 2 to 25 inches and require 240 pounds of feed a day.
Ornamental-fish farming is a small segment of North Carolina's
aquaculture, but the profit margin can be high possibly high enough
that state officials hope that other former tobacco producers might
consider commercial fish production as a viable option to replace the
golden leaf.
Koi, which are colorful carp, can grow to be about 3 feet long and
fetch thousands of dollars. Stroud also sells some goldfish comets
and fan-tails but the demand is highest for koi, he said.
"It's just the friendliness of them," said Stroud, the owner of
Tar Heel Fish Farm here. "You go out to Japan, and they're
everywhere. They'll come out of the water and into your hands."
Like Stroud, more than 250 people in North Carolina have been
issued licenses for pond and tank aquaculture. The majority of
aquaculture in the state is in fish raised to be eaten, such as
catfish, trout and hybrid striped bass.
"The trout industry in Western North Carolina is a relatively
mature industry," said Debra Sloan, an aquaculture specialist for the
state Department of Agriculture.
Some industry pioneers have been in business well over 30 years,
Sloan said. In the mid-1980s, the industry grew quickly, but in the
1990s some farms closed because profit margins were small, as they
still are.
Though the agricultural department could not say exactly how many
fish farms are producing koi and other ornamental species, Sloan said
that the level of interest among potential producers is growing.
"I think it's competitive and could be a growing market," Sloan
said. "Ornamentals, yes, sell for a much higher price. It's very
intensive. They have to do a lot of sorting in order to get the colors
they need to satisfy their market."
Stroud keeps some of his most prized koi in a pond near his home,
and each spring, he selects breeders from this group that he thinks
will produce the best colors. He places two males with a female in a
separate pond and spawning usually occurs within days.
The female lays eggs on coconut-fiber mats that Stroud has placed
in the pond. He collects the eggs, which can number as much as
500,000, and quickly places them into another pond. There, the baby
fish (called fry) stay until he separates them. Those with the best
colors mainly oranges and yellows as well as striking patterns
will make it to a grow pond.
"What it is, is the bloodline," said Stroud of the varying colors
and patterns of koi. "I go to Japan because there is a better
selection."
The most Stroud has paid for a fish is $800. "It was about six to
eight inches about four years ago," he said. "Now, it's in excess of
25 inches and valued at $4,000 to $5,000."
Sherry Youngquist can be reached at syoungquist@wsjournal.com
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service