July 1982 RAIN Page 19 OUT OF THE PAIL RODALE A basic system approach to small-scale pool culture, including a 55- gallon drum as the settling basin, with plastic mesh for increased surface area. The reduced volume provides for simple and efficient cleaning with a minimum of water removal. Since a pumping device is required with settling systems, a logical energy-saving step is to use this potential for turning the filter. Pictured is a prototype waterwheel-driven biodisc filter, which reduces capital costs and energy by Mark Roseland The time has come to put food fish production capability in the hands of the consumer who wants and needs it.. . Fish can be grown in basements as well as on rooftops . . . Our purpose is to promote the advancement and exchange of knowledge necessary to permit urban dwellers and others with limited resources to producefoodfish for themselves and their neighbors at low cost. — NETWORK (Rodale Aquaculture Publication) A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the Rodale Research Center in northeastern Pennsylvania, an experience I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone seriously interested in organic food production systems. In particular I investigated their work with aquaculture, a long-time interest of mine, and spoke at length with Steve Van Gorder, Coordinator of Rodale's Aquaculture Research Project. The Rodale aquaculture researchers are working primarily with tilapia (Nile perch), channel catfish, and rainbow trout. Unlike some other aquaculture projects around the country, the emphasis of the Rodale project is clearly on low-tech, low cost methods to encourage families and small farmers to experiment with fish as a source of healthy, high-protein, home-grown food. They have developed a simple (yet remarkaWy productive and inexpensive) small-scale fish culture system using little more than a child's 12-ft. diameter backyard swimming pool covered by a PVC frame and a layer or two of clear polyethylene (a simple solar "season extender"). It is augmented by a 55-gallon drum clarifier for a settling basin and an ingenious biodisc filter driven by a water wheel (see illustration). For a one-time cost of probably under $500 (less with recycled materials), one can harvest literally hundreds of pounds of fish with this system. Simple though this may seem, it really helps (as with most things in life) to know what you're doing. Especially when you have a multitude of variables (water temperature, quality, pH, stocking density, feeds, etc.) and a minimum of experience (modem aquaculture is still in its adolescence, despite a 4(XX) year history), information exchange with other practitioners is essential. Those researchers who work with nets have been networking each other for years. But for us fingerling fish farmers in the backyard, staying on top of new developments in the water has been like swimming against the current. Thanks to the people at Rodale, however, the tide is finally turning for ecological aquaculture. Recognizing the growing enthusiasm for aquaculture in North America, the Project has formed an association to gather information on aquaculture research and develop an ongoing dialogue to help everyone working in this exciting field. Membership entitles you to 1) NETWORK, a quarterly newsletter with research descriphons and updates, practical suggestions, and diagnosis of relevant government policy; 2) in-depth annual research reports with results and suggestions for construction and maintenance of experimental small-scale fish culture systems (these reports, incidentally, are refreshingly readable); 3) discounts at Rodale aquacultural seminars and workshops; and 4) opportunities to participate in reader research programs. If you're serious about fish culture, you can't afford not to join. (For a one-year membership, send $15 to Rodale Press, Inc., 33 East Minor Street, Emmaus, PA 18049, Attn: Rodale Aquaculture Membership). Last but certainly not least, NETWORK carries in each issue a fish recipe from the Rodale Test Kitchen. These recipes are important in creating acceptance and markets for promising but relatively unlmown or misunderstood fish species (e.g., Qiinese carp, American eel). For as we all know, the proof of the fish is on the dish! □□
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