BIG RESTULS FRO A LITTLE EXPERIMENT: THE SWITCH TO AQUCULTURE PAYS OFF WITH BIG SHRIMP FOR METROPOLIS, ILL., FARMER

By B. Ray Owen

The last place you might expect to find freshwater shrimp is in a pond in Southern Illinois.

But some of the largest shrimp received at Freedom Freshwater Shrimp Co., in Byrdston, Tenn., this year were hauled in from the pond of Warren Koch of Metropolis.

"They averaged seven to eight inches long," Koch said. "When they weighed them at the processing plant, as few as four shrimp equaled a pound."

Koch, a faculty member at Shawnee Community College near Ullin, Ill., was pleased with his first experiment at an alternative agriculture crop.

"For a while, I didn't even know if I had any shrimp," said Koch. "We had placed one-inch shrimp in a special farm pond, and I was feeding them. But I could never see them."

Koch couldn't see them then, but recently he harvested 400 pounds of mature shrimp, and hoped last week's harvest would produce another 400 to 600 pounds.

Koch was the first Southern Illinois farmer to take advantage of Shawnee College's plan for raising freshwater shrimp in the area.

The inch-long shrimp were initially purchased for 12 cents apiece, according to Ben Maragni, Shawnee Collage Alternative Agriculture coordinator.

"We lost our first batch of shrimp," said Koch. "The water was too cool."

The temperature needs at be at least 65 degrees, which puts the Southern Illinois growing season from about June through September, Koch said.

But the next two batches were successful. The shrimp from the first 400 pounds from one pond averaged about six inches in length.

Koch prepared two special ponds for the shrimp.

The ponds should be less than an acre in size and from three to five feet deep, he said. Smooth, graded bottoms are essential because some harvesting is done with seines.

Other than that, ponds for freshwater prawns have the same basic features as ponds used for channel catfish. A good supply of fresh water and soil with excellent water-retention qualities are important.

Koch hopes to add some more ponds for next year's crop.

Commercial production of freshwater prawns has been in the news lately, creating a flurry of requests for information on freshwater prawn culture.

Shawnee College is excited about its new alternative agriculture program, which can provide more information concerning the raising of shrimp.

"We're looking into the possibility of raising the small shrimp to sell to farmers," said Tom Riechman, public relations coordinator at the college.

Production of the freshwater shrimp has been the subject of research and commercial production through several southern states Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Research has revealed that the freshwater prawns could grow in inland waters, which could eventually spark industrial growth hatcheries, nurseries, and pond growth.

Meanwhile, aquaculture is making a big splash in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Forty-five fish farms are registered in Missouri, with more than half of them in Southeast Missouri. Most concentrate on catfish, but at least one, in Butler County, is experimenting with freshwater shrimp.

In Illinois, the fish farm count is 45 to 50, with two of the big operations in Southern Illinois near Gorham.

Daniel A. Selock is the aquaculture point man for Southern Illinois University-Carbondale's office of Economic and Regional Development. He is hoping to see increases in Illinois fish farms.

"Illinois consumed 670 million pounds of live weight of catfish during 1998," said Selock. "The state produced 705,000 pounds. That means that 99 percent of the fish consumed in Illinois come from out of state."

Growing in fish farm numbers would also support the region's newest fish processing plant, which is being constructed at Pinckneyville, Ill.