Syracuse.com - Commercial bass hatchery owner says column about selling bass fillets was one-sided

[HuntingNY-News]

"I have to dispute a couple of the comments made in your article. First of all it is quite easy to tell the difference between a farm-raised bass and a wild one. There is a distinct color difference due to their diets," he said.. My column last Sunday about a state Department of Environmental Conservation proposal to change state regulations concerning the commercial sale of hatchery-raised black bass (small and largemouth) resulted in this email from Darin Hickling, of Hickling's Fish Farm.Hickling wrote: "I read your article this weekend about DEC's proposal to allow farm-raised largemouth to be sold for meat and I was a extremely disappointed that, as a reporter, you didn't talk to anyone from the aquaculture industry to get their side of the story. My family and I own a fish farm about 30 miles south of Utica and specialize in raising bass. We raise them in a combination of ponds and climate- controlled buildings with recirculating systems which allows us to raise thousands of pounds of bass using very little water. "I have to dispute a couple of the comments made in your article. First of all it is quite easy to tell the difference between a farm-raised bass and a wild one. There is a distinct color difference due to their diets. Second, regulations involved are quite extensive. Hatcheries must be inspected and approved before they can sell bass for meat. They must show that they have adequate facilities for the raising of fish. This is to keep some guy from keeping a couple of tanks in his garage and collecting wild fish. Also, everyone in the chain of custody must possess chain of custody paperwork for the fish that they have on hand so that it can be tracked back to the source. They must also report all of the fish they handle and keep that paperwork on file for years afterward."Currently there are about 30 other states, including many throughout the northeast, that allow bass to be sold for meat with little or no problems. Also, because of the ever growing demand for fish in NY state and the restricted supply there is already a problem with black market fish (both fresh and saltwater) making it into markets and restaurants. This problem will only get worse."As many saltwater fisheries are dwindling, focus will turn to our freshwater fisheries. Farm-raised fish need to make up the difference and the change in these DEC regulations will put thousands of pounds of LEGAL farm-raised fish onto the market and will actually lessen the demand for black market fish and relieve the pressure on the fisheries that they are exploiting. If you have any questions feel free to contact me or come down for a tour."You can also visit our website . "

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