More “challenges” to our ability to produce...

[Equilibrium]

More “challenges” to our ability to produce our own food as Chinese and Korean catfish imports increase while grain prices rise which…. is crippling American farmers-
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03...drying-up.html
Surprise surprise, there’s not enough catfish to fill orders now, http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/bus...sh-crunch.html.
Who gets the short end of the stick…. Americans do. American Catfish farmers on American soil are going belly up and American consumers are paying more than $7 a pound because our administration allowed us to become dependent on yet another one of our “global” brethren’s imports and… when gas prices doubled in the last year….. China (continuing to enjoy most favored nation status) passed the increased costs of transportation and refrigeration associated with moving catfish across the oceans blue and then some to us. Cod and tilapia farmers are hurting too. I expect prices on all fish to go through the ceiling.

[Equilibrium]

Anyone already raising tilapia or game to try it while the going’s still good>>>?
http://techref.massmind.org/techref/...piaRaising.htm

The most important thing to know about Tilapia is that there are many types, with wildly different characteristics. And even within one type of Tilapia, the nutritional value of the fish will vary wildly depending on what they were fed. For example, if they are fed primarily corn they will contain more Omega 6 (harmful) than Omega 3 (helpful) fatty acids. Fish grown on flax based feeds will be high in Omega 3s and low in Omega 6's. Even for one individual Tilapia, the ideal temperature and diet will vary over the fish's lifetime…The size of the pond should be determined by the number of fish you want to raise. A good guide is 4 to 5 square feet of water per mature fish or 2-3 mature fish per square meter of water surface in a pond environment. In aquaculture or aquaponics, a more crowded environment can help keep the aggressive males from becoming territorial: No fewer than 3 fish per 50 gallons, and up to 12 adult fish can be contained in a 55 gallon drum. The water depth in any environment should be more than 3 feet or one meter; never less than 2.5 feet (three-fourths meter) deep. The water should be still and not flowing so if a stream or river is used, the pond should be separated from the flowing water. Exposure to sunlight is very important both to maintain temperature and to promote the growth of green food such as algae.

Here’s some links from a file I keep on Tilapia that might be helpful-
http://synaptoman.wordpress.com/2009...1-its-so-easy/
http://synaptoman.wordpress.com/2008...ow-do-i-start/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MSJcPKYJA8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK_hm...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1oi8...eature=related

[lunghd]

A LOT of US catfish farms were along the Mississippi river... which means catfish, farm and all are now IN the Mississippi river with the flooding they're getting. Farms in the flood/hurricane/tornado damaged areas are hurting bad & foreign fish farms are now stepping in to meet the demand.

US raised catfish was cheaper (at least here in VA) & was all the local stores carried but our locally owned store manager was talking about this issue & the US farms are toast right now and will take years to recover.

[cinok]

Originally Posted by lunghd

A LOT of US catfish farms were along the Mississippi river... which means catfish, farm and all are now IN the Mississippi river with the flooding they're getting. Farms in the flood/hurricane/tornado damaged areas are hurting bad & foreign fish farms are now stepping in to meet the demand.

US raised catfish was cheaper (at least here in VA) & was all the local stores carried but our locally owned store manager was talking about this issue & the US farms are toast right now and will take years to recover.

One thing you will notice it is easier to blame the chinese and ignore common sense on this board.

[ScrubbieLady]

Originally Posted by cinok

One thing you will notice it is easier to blame the chinese and ignore common sense on this board.

Sorry, I'm confused. What does that have to do with the damage to the catfish farming due to the flooding down the Mississippi? The blame is not on anyone if we cannot get US raised catfish. It is not a necessity of life.