On my way down to Devon last week I stopped at a friend's home near Cullumpton - Jimmie Hepburn who used to live near Nailsworth and stood as a Green party candidate there has embarked on what I think is a particularly exciting project: organic fish farming.Photo: Below Aquavision - Jimmies company and me talking to Jimmie as we walk around the farm
When I arrived Jimmie was on the phone organising a visit the next day by Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall - Hugh (a Green party supporter) was hoping to do a programme on carp and I did get to see the fish he would be meeting and taking back to River Cottage or wherever.
Anyhow it's been known for many years how unsustainable most fish farming is - salmon particularly has come in for much criticism (see Green party letter here) - indeed the world's fishing industry is wholly unsustainable (read more here) - 75% of commercial fish stocks are over-exploited and close to collapse - 90% of big fish like tuna and marlin are gone - we urgently need action - and today a campaign has been launched - I strongly urge people to visit this website here and sign the petition - but hey thats all for another blog entry I want to share news of this project in Devon.
Jimmie has for years worked and studied as an aquaculturist - did I spell that right? Anyhow he has advised many different organisations and I think it is fair to say been frustrated by the current loose standards around organic fish farming. Although there have also been exciting projects which he has been involved with like at Sheepdrove Organic Farm - read more about that here.
Photos: more shots of the farm including mealworm pilot project and pond plant developments'Carp' I hear you cry - 'Who eats that?'
It is true that it is not really eaten here in the UK - even some fisher folk I've spoken to have even been surprised by the suggestion of eating it - but it's eaten widely in other countries - a delicacy - and Jimmie's visited farms in Austria to see how they do it there - the fish can be a bit 'muddy' sometimes but a 30 min soak before hand in salt water completely eliminates the problem - there is also a special filleting tool that helps with bones - it is by all accounts great - not least because of it's sustainability (more below on that) - however there will be a challenge to market it - although with the increase in farmers markets and desires for organic local produce I cannot see a problem longer term.
Why carp?Well basically it is one the most sustainable fish requiring the least energy inputs - salmon for example requires huge inputs in terms of protein - other fish - indeed Aquaculture already uses up over 70% of the world’s supply of fish oil and by 2010 that figure will rise to over 90%.
In contrast carp tend to be omnivorous, feeding on snails, mollusks, worms, algae, aquatic plants, seeds and detritus. Abroad they have been incorporated into rice paddies to feed on the insects and other organisms associated with rice culture. Carp are also able to tolerate less than ideal environmental conditions.
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acres of waterAnyhow Jimmie owns 4 acres of water - 17 ponds - in 18 months I have been astounded by the amount of work he and his wife Penny have achieved there. Initially they still had goldfish there from the previous farmer and were involved in completing a sale - there are still some varieties left but his aim is to develop carp and they are coming on already.
Much work has been done in restoring the sheds and ponds and working out how to reduce energy costs by looking at water flows, filters, increasing natural light etc - how to make the whole lot more sustainable - using some of the waste from the fish to develop pond plants for sale - maybe sheep to save on grass cutting the pond edges...and how best to stop the otters and kingfishers feeding on the carp - at the moment enormous nets have been put up over several of the key ponds.
Jimmie also has a pilot project to grow mealworms for the fish to increase their protein intake. I'm afraid you'll need to contact Jimmie himself if you have any technical questions - indeed I hope I've given a fair report in this rather hurried scribble....Already Jimmie has got the local college and schools involved and is keen on the idea of cooperatives and supporting local markets....indeed with peak oil and climate change local fish will become an increasingly important. Most current fish farming is wholly unsustainable on many fronts - here is a way forward that offers many opportunities....exciting stuff....very good luck to him.
6 comments:
Disgusting only sad people eat goldfish the polish can keep it
keep them as pets beter fish can be organic
Carp is an absolute delicatessy, poached whole carp, battered in fine bread crumbs, fillet of carp fried in crumbs, smoked carp fillet yummy!!!
It's a great idea, and very environmentally friendly. Still, I wonder if people'd be put off or encouraged by the idea that, to be truly efficient, these carp ponds would be best fertilized by human manure?
Thanks for taking time to comment - I've sought advice and here is the comment from a friend who knows lots more than me:
The Chinese do use human manure or 'night soil' as part of the composting
system for fertilizing ponds. The key issue is health hazard and whether
the manure is sufficiently transformed. Currently I think it would be
illegal to do in the UK - though sewerage injection is done on some
agriculture land.
My own view is that there is too many of us humans on the planet to use our
own waste in the farming systems to feed us - somewhere along the line a
problem would emerge. However we do need to use our waste to good use and
recycle it to produce energy and mixing the final compost products for non
food composting could be an option.
Not true that there are too many people to use 100% of planet-wide human waste in our food system. You take in plant and animal matter, use some of it for energy, some becomes part of you, and the rest comes out the other end, just like any animal. You will necessarily have much less matter coming out than going in. If you think about how the natural cycle keeps going around and around, with photosynthesis adding energy to the system and animals like us removing it from the cycle, it balances.
I believe it is a combination of (1) irrational psychological barriers, possibly stemming from shared cultural memories of plagues brought on by improper sanitation, (2) unanswered/unasked questions such as "Do things like residual pharmaceuticals compost into benign compounds?", and (3) treating modern water-borne sewage collection systems as a universal disposal for anything that'll go down the drain without regard for where it goes that holds us back from mass adoption of what would otherwise be very sound rethinking of human "waste" as a valuable resource.
A large and growing body of research indicates that properly composted and aged human waste is no more harmful than using cow manure, horse manure, chicken manure, or any other animal's manure in your garden. As for the original idea of tossing the contents of last night's bedpan in the community fish pond then scooping out a carp for dinner later that day... well that sounds like a pandemic waiting to happen.
Thanks - that blog post was 5 years ago and I've read much on human waste systems since then - do agree there is huge potential for making use of such a resource - although wont be tossing it in my pond....a good article in last edition of Permaculture magazine on human waste...
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