A market for fish must be arranged before harvesting. Most buyers prefer fish that weigh between 3/4 and 2 pounds.
Two harvesting methods are generally used: complete harvest, when all the fish are taken out of the pond, and partial harvest, when only a portion of the fish are taken out of the pond at one time.
A complete harvest is usually done by seining and draining the pond. In levee-type ponds, the pond is seined to remove the fish. In hill-type ponds, the pond is seined to remove the fish as soon as the water is lowered to about 5 to 8 feet deep at the drain. The remaining fish, in both cases, are captured by seines and dip nets from the small pool of water remaining near the drain after the pond is drained.
Draining is the best way to harvest all the fish at one time. However, water is lost and refilling can be costly. In watershed, ponds, refilling depends mainly on rainfall, which can keep ponds out of production during dry periods.
One solution to this problem is to drain or pump water from the pond being harvested into other nearby ponds for temporary storage. Then, refill the harvested pond from the storage pond. Harvesting for a series of ponds should start at the lowest pond and end at the uppermost pond, thus conserving most of the water.
Concentrating the fish in a small area when water is drawn down may cause an oxygen depletion which can kill them. Careful supervision is required during this produre. Aerated well water or tractor-powered aerators are needed during harvest in the event of oxygen problems. Be sure to have adequate facilities to hold the remaining fish, if all your fish cannot be hauled to market in a reasonably short time.
Partial harvest can be done by angling, trot line, trapping, or seining. Angling, trot lines, and box traps are usually too inefficient for commercial harvest. Seining ponds without draining is difficult in many Alabama ponds. Most hill ponds are too deep and uneven to seine. Partial harvesting by using a seine for trapping the fish can be very effective, however. This method is especially useful when fish buyers want small quantities of fish for local sales.
Generally, a seine 150 to 200 feet long and 6 to 8 feet deep should be used for trapping. Set the seine in a location that has a smooth bottom and is about 3 to 4 feet deep at a distance of 50 feet from shore. Stretch the seine parallel to the shore a distance of approximately 50 feet. Coil 50 feet of the seine at each end connect a rope from each coiled end to the shore. The seine can also be set in the center of a finger or bay of the pond, if the seine is 1-1/2 times the width of the bay.
Set the trap and begin feeding between the seine and the shore for several days before attempting a harvest. Sometimes feed must be spread outside the catch area to lead fish into the trapping area. The fish will be ready to trap after several days, when they are well accustomed to feeding within the trapping area. Place a small amount of feed within the trapping area and pull the seine ends to shore when the fish are feeding. Then carefully draw the entire seine to shore and harvest the fish. Figure15 shows the placement of a seine.
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Figrue 15. Placment of seine and haul ropes. |
The trap-seine method of partial harvested usually cannot be used more often than once every 7 to 10 days, because fish become wary of the trap. However, harvesting can be alternated among ponds or at different stations within larger ponds. Remember to feed fish at the time of day you plan to trap. More information on trap seining can be found in Extension circular ANR-257, "Corral Seine For Trapping Catfish," available from your county Extension agent or the Extension fisheries specialists.
The type and size of harvest equipment a producer needs depends on the size of the operation and the market served. Some producers harvest their own fish. However, some fish buyers and custom harvesters harvest the fish, reducing the producer's need for equipment.
Seines. For every 2 feet of pond width to be seined, 3 feet of seine length is required. The same ratio applies to pond depth. Floats can be made of styrofoam or plastic attached on 18-inch centers.
Most catfish seines have a mud line on the bottom of the net. A mud
line is made of many strands of rope or a roll of menhaden netting bound
together (Figure 16). As the seine is drawn across the pond bottom, the
mud line stays on top of the mud, eliminating the digging effect of lead-weighted
lines.
Seines should be made of polyethylene or nylon. Catfish spines will not catch in polyethylene material. Nylon netting requires a net treatment to prevent spines from entangling.
The mesh size to be used varies according to the minimum size of the fish to be captured. Buying the proper mesh seine for your operation allows you to capture only fish that are large enough for your market. Table 11 gives the size of fish that can be caught by various sizes of mesh. The size of the fish caught varies somewhat with the mesh width and the condition and activity of the fish. Fish do not grade as well when water temperatures are cold. All sizes are given as bar mesh, which is the smallest distance between knots.
| Mesh Size | Fish Size |
| 1 inch | 5 ounces and larger |
| 1 1/4 inches | 7 ounces and larger |
| 1 3/8 inches | 8 ounces and larger |
| 1 1/2 inches | 12 ounces and larger |
| 1 5/8 inches | 1 pound and larger |
| 1 3/4 inches | 1 1/2 pounds and larger |
| 1 1/4 inches | 1 3/4 pounds and larger |
| 2 inches | 2 pounds and larger |
Live-cars. Holding live fish is sometimes necessary
if the market cannot take all the catch in one day, or if there is a delay
between capture and hauling fish to market. Often, catfish producers may
want to sell fish directly to consumers. In these cases, catfish can be
held in live-cars. Live-cars are net enclosures that can be placed in a
pond to temporarily hold the fish (Figure 17). They are made of the same
materials as seines.
Use caution when holding fish in live-cars. Diseases, oxygen stress, weight loss, and poaching are common problems. It may be necessary to aerate near the live-car at night, particularly in warm weather. Limit the time the fish are held to only a few days to reduce weight loss and prevent disease. Disease can occur in holding devices during any season but is much more prevalent when water temperatures are highest. Poachers can easily steal fish from unguarded holding facilities.
Other equipment. For harvesting fish, producers may also need:
A seine reel for hauling in and storing the seine.
When To Harvest
Coordinate your harvest date to meet the needs of your markets, whether the fish go to processors or your own private outlet. Make sure that the fish are of the size demanded by your buyer. There are markets, such as live-haulers and fish-out operations, that desire larger fish.
Most catfish are stocked as fingerlings in winter or early spring and harvested in fall or winter. This schedule often results in a glut of fish ready for market in the fall. To avoid this situation, producers can stock fingerling of varying sizes at different times of the year. This strategy may not result in optimum growth, but the higher prices generally paid for market-size fish during the spring and summer may make up for any inefficiencies.