Small-Scale Catfish Production: Using Existing Farm Ponds

University of Arkansas, United States Department of Agriculture and County Governments Cooperating

Nathan Stone
Extension Fisheries Specialist

Carole R. Engle
Coordinator of Fisheries, 1890 Research and Extension

Thousands of farm ponds dot the  Arkansas landscape.  It is tempting to consider using existing farm ponds for commercial catfish farming because pond construction is a major cost in starting a catfish farm.   While it may be possible to do so, it is important to evaluate carefully the condition of an existing pond before using it to start a catfish enterprise.

An existing pond needs to be inspected to determine if it is suitable for commercial catfish culture or, if not, what the costs would be to remedy deficiencies.  Contact your local USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) office for assistance in pond inspection and renovation.  If your pond was constructed with cost-sharing funds from the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS), check with your local ASCS office before using the pond for commercial catfish culture.

Pond Location

For commercial catfish culture, a pond should be accessible by an all-weather road.  This will allow daily pond management as well as providing access at harvest time.  Roads need to be graveled and of sufficient width and sturdiness to allow passage of a hauling truck.

Many existing farm ponds are constructed away from roads and houses.  Distant ponds may suffer from a lack of attention and fish may not be fed nor water quality monitored on a regular basis.  This is particularly true for a part-time operation where the owner will have many other concerns to attend to during the day.  Where there are a number of farm ponds, these are typically some distance apart.  It takes more time to feed ponds that are spread out and management tasks such as moving portable aerators are more difficult.

Theft can be a major problem because isolated ponds away from houses or located near woods are vulnerable to poachers.  Arkansas law does provide stiff penalties for stealing fish from farms and possession of fishing equipment on a commercial fish farm is considered intent.  Fishing tackle and vehicles used by violators "shall be confiscated by the arresting officer" and, if the individual is convicted, the property can be sold at public auction.

Security lighting will help deter poachers.   Installation of three-phase electrical service may involve a charge for ponds located more than several poles away from existing power lines.  If power can be provided to several ponds through one new line, there may not be any cost.  Check with your power company for information on your particular situation.

Electric aerators are commonly used in commercial catfish ponds and can be used if electricity is available at the pond.  Diesel or gasoline powered aerators can be used but require manual operation.  Without aeration, annual fish production is limited to about 1,000-1,500 lb/acre, as feeding should be restricted to less than 30 lb/acre/day to maintain water quality.

Modifying Farm Ponds for Catfish Production

Existing ponds may not be suitable for commercial production without modification.  Many ponds were originally constructed for watering cattle or recreational fishing.  In commercial catfish production, it is essential that you be able to harvest fish from the pond when desired.  The only way to reliably harvest commercial ponds is through seining (netting) the entire pond.   Necessary modifications to allow a pond to be seined may prove more expensive than construction of a new pond.  Major modifications that may be required by farm ponds are: levee work, silt removal, stump removal or reflooring, grading of the pond bottom and installation of a drainpipe.

Levee Work

Over time, pond levees can be damaged by erosion and burrowing animals suck as muskrats.  It may be impossible to cut grass and weeds on eroded dams, and the tops of levees must be wide enough to allow vehicle traffic.  If trees and brush have grown up on the levees, their roots may penetrate the dam, decompose, and form channels that can cause leaks or eventual dam failure.  Trees will also interfere with harvesting equipment and leaves will pollute the water  and clog harvest nets.  Most existing farm ponds will need at least clearing and some levee work before they can be used for commercial catfish culture.

For ponds filled by rain water runoff, careful attention must be paid to the pond's emergency spillway.  Most ponds are constructed with a low section to one side of the dam that allows excess water to leave a full pond   during heavy rains.  This spillway must be kept free of trash so that it can function properly.  In order for fish to remain in the pond, water leaving over the emergency spillway should not be over 1 to 2 inches deep.  Fencing the spillway is not recommended as trash and leaves can clog the mesh and cause water to pour over the top of the dam, leading to erosion and possible dam failure.  A horizontal bar spillway barrier constructed of parallel iron bars, one inch apart, retains fish and is less susceptible to clogging.

Silt Removal

In older ponds, deep deposits of silt may have accumulated in the pond basin.  Mud makes harvesting difficult and creates shallow areas in ponds that are ideal for growth of aquatic weeds.  This layer will be slow to dry and difficult to remove.  A large drag-line might be required to remove accumulated silt from an entire pond basin.

Stump Removal or Reflooring

Many pond sites were not cleared when the ponds were constructed initially, and ponds may contain standing timber or stumps.  Obviously, ponds with stumps cannot be harvested using a seine.

Costs for removing stumps vary with stump diameter and condition of the pond bottom.  Some contractors may charge by the acre rather than by the number of stumps.  Stump removal is relatively inexpensive if the pond bottom can be dried.  A bulldozer can push out stumps in the process of grading the pond bottom.  If the pond bottom is always wet, stump removal must be accomplished using other equipment such as a bulldozer with a cable or winch, a backhoe with mats, a front end loader or explosives.

Another option, especially in deeper ponds, is to bring in extra earth from a borrow pit and refloor the pond.  Earth is placed over the pond bottom until equipment can enter to remove stumps or until the bottom is raised beyond the height of existing stumps.  Reflooring can also be used to seal leaks.   This is an expensive option unless a ready supply of dirt exists close to the pond.   The primary factor affecting cost is the distance soil must be transported.

Grading Pond Bottom

Pond basins that contain deeper pockets or drop-offs are difficult to seine.  A clean, smooth and gently sloping pond bottom is required for harvesting fish.  Because water depths of less than 2.5 - 3 feet promote the growth of aquatic weeds, the ends and edges of ponds may need to be deepened to reduce shallow areas.

As with stump removal, costs for grading work vary tremendously of dry or wet conditions. A bulldozer can quickly grade a pond bottom under dry conditions.  If the pond bottom cannot be dried, the contractor must resort to a dragline , a back hoe with mats or hauling in additional earth to mix with the pond bottom mud.  In may cases, it is impossible or a waste of time to try to grade pond bottoms under wet conditions.

Care is needed in the renovation process.   Reworking farm ponds can lead to seepage problems in some cases.  Deeper cuts during the reworking process could expose are of permeable soils.  Ponds may have sealed over time through the accumulation of organic matter which may be disturbed or oxidized during renovations.

Drainpipe Installation

Most farm ponds in Arkansas were constructed without drains.  At least partial draining is required for harvesting fish from most farm ponds, since many have areas where the water is deeper than the maximum 4 to5 feet depth that can be harvested with a seine.  Cutting a pond levee to install a drain in an existing pond is very expensive, as extensive earthmoving is required in the highest and thickest portion of the dam.  The cut must be made in a v-shape, so that proper compaction of replacement soil can be obtained.

While the cheapest way to install or replace a drainpipe is to cut  a trench with vertical walls, it is very difficult to compact properly the fill material in a vertical cut.  Without proper compaction, there is a greater likelihood of dam failure.  Costs of contracting to install drainpipes may be prohibitive for small-scale farmers.

Pumping out water at each harvest would be a major expense.  A 1,500 gpm diesel pump set costs $5,500 to $7,500.  Pumping at a rate of 1,000 gpm, it would take approximately four and a half days of pumping to draw down a 5-acre pond by 4 feet.  While it ma be necessary to pump a pond dry initially in order to properly evaluate the pond's condition, pumping is usually not an option for most producers.

Another alternative is to use a siphon structure.   Siphons can be constructed over the top of a dam or underground to drain ponds.   Permanent siphon pipes laid on top of the dam restrict access to the dam and increased labor is required to control vegetation.  burying the siphon pipe in the dam would allow vehicle traffic but would require substantial labor.  Siphons are relatively slow and will quit working if air leaks into the system, but are a lower cost option for draining ponds.

Renovation Costs

Contractors who do pond renovation work typically charge by the hour although some may charge by cubic yard of earth moved.  Hourly rates vary with age and size of equipment.  Bulldozers or pan scrapers are commonly used in ponds that can be dried.  Moving equipment to the work site is a major expense.  It is next to impossible to assess the cost of renovating a pond  when it is full of water.  Be sure to get assistance from a reputable source in evaluating pond renovation requirements and estimated costs.

Alternatives

If modifications required for a pond to be used for   commercial catfish production prove to be too expensive, ponds can still be used to produce increased quantities of fish for home consumption.  Fish can be removed by hook and line or fish traps.  When fish are fed on a regular basis and at least a portion of the pond bottom is smooth and free from obstruction, larger quantities can be obtained by trapping fish with a seine.

In this method a 100-200 feet seine is left in the pond parallel to the bank.  Fish are fed regularly in the space between the seine and the shore.  Ropes attached to the two ends of the seine allow it to be pulled to the shore, trapping feeding fish in the seine for harvest.  While repeated trapping can catch a majority of fish in large ponds can be removed by trapping, so that it cannot be used as the sole harvest method for commercial producers.

Sources of Information

Beem, Marley.  1993.  Use of existing ponds for catfish culture.  Commercial Alternative Ag Newsline, Vol. III, No. 5, Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University.

Jensen, John.  1984.  Corral seine for trapping catfish.  Circular ANR-257, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, Auburn University, Auburn, AL.

Jensen, John.  1987.  Spillway barriers for farm ponds.  Circular ANR-326, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, Auburn University, Auburn, AL

Acknowledge is given to MARTHA ROWEN, Research Specialist and ROBERT A RODE, research specialist/pond manager, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, for assistance with this fact sheet.

DR. NATHAN STONE, Extension fisheries specialist,and
DR. CAROLE R. ENGLE, Coordinator of fisheries, 1890 Research
and Extension, are with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S.D.A., Dr. Milo J. Shult, Director, Cooperative Extension Program, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.  The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Program offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.