By Associated Press
Greensboro, AL – The two to five inches of rain that has fallen in the Black Belt during the last two weeks has been welcome relief, but it's had little effect on catfish ponds that are suffering from low water levels.
Low water levels can leave the fish vulnerable to low oxygen and create flavor problems, with fish taking on the musty taste of algae and becoming unacceptable to processors. When oxygen-starved catfish get into shallow water, the entire pond also can die off.
Aeration keeps the fish alive, but raises the farmer's production costs. Aerators either run off electricity or are tractor-powered.
Like other farmers, catfish producers were hit by a spring and summer drought that followed a dry winter.
George Smelley, a catfish farmer from the Prairie Eden community, told The Tuscaloosa News in a story today that most of the ponds are down 35 percent in volume.
Smelley said the only thing that would help would be big rains with a lot of runoff. But those don't usually come in July and August.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)