FISH WITH TANS

The first channel catfish crop coming out of a mine pit lake in Elkville, Ill., are "fat as footballs and black as coal," says Daniel Selock, a researcher and aquaculture specialist at SIUC.

"I see their appearance as a marketing tool, a way of differentiating our Illinois fish from those down south," he says. 

These catfish come from Clearwater Fish Farm, a private endeavor hatched in 2000 with some help from Selock and the Illinois Fish Farmers Co-op. The cats get their fat and sassy look from their environment: They live in netpens in 30- to 50-acre lakes made from reclaimed strip mines.

"Water clarity is 8 to 10 feet in many mine lakes, so the sunlight penetrates the water," Selock says. "Because the cages are no deeper than 4 to 6 feet, the fish are basically basking in the sun all summer and getting a nice tan. Instead of the gray, washed-out look you see in cats from Arkansas and Mississippi, you get this beautiful black color with indigo highlights."

Selock has been advising southern Illinois fish farmers on techniques for growing fish in reclaimed strip mine lakes. This isn't a new idea; back in the 1950s and 1960s, SIUC fisheries scientists raised trout in a mine lake near De Soto. Cage culture was necessary because the lake was too deep to seine. "They did work with cages before anyone else in the country even thought of it," says Selock. 

He has been promoting the use of both netpens and mine lakes as a way to boost the region's economy. Catfish are a competitive choice: those raised in netpens don't grub around on the pond bottom for worms; they eat grain, which gives them a better flavor. 

And there are plenty of mine lakes at hand. SIUC's resident land-reclamation expert, Jack Nawrot, estimates that southern Illinois boasts 15,000 surface acres of coal mine lakes with water quality suitable for fish farming.

"We're trying to convert this resource from a liability to something that can support a business for rural economic development," explains Selock. (See also the Spring 2001 Perspectives cover story.)

If a nice tan can make catfish look good, it ought to do wonders for hybrid striped bass, a fish whose attractive appearance makes it a popular choice for upscale eateries that serve fish whole. Over the past decade SIUC’s Fisheries and Illinois Aquaculture Center has developed techniques for Midwestern farming of this species, and Clearwater Fish Farm recently added bass to its operation.

"These bass ought to be just dazzling, brilliant bass, and that added brilliance and color ought to sway the chef," Selock says.

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