Farm Pond Management 101

12-Week Course via Zoom, Thursdays 10am - 12pm

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This is series of zoom programs that cover the management of small impoundments over a 12-week course. The one-hour plus lectures are designed to provide detailed information on various subject areas dealing with the small impoundments. At the end of the course, you will have gained significant knowledge of Fish Biology, Pond Ecology, Fisheries Management, Water Quality, Dam Structure Maintenance, and Farm Ponds' alternate use.

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Farm Pond Management 101 Spring - Summer

1. Basic Overview and Introduction - What is a farm pond/small impoundment? o History · Farm Pond Uses · Dams · Fish Population · Ecology · Watershed o Forest o Pasture David Crosby, VSU · Drone Tour of a basic farm pond. Video · Can do this at our ponds · Collaborator Leonel Castilio SFOP will be doing a drone flyover of the ponds. · Week 1 April 29 10 am

2. Fish Biology · Fish Anatomy and Morphology o Gills · Reproduction · Behavior · Species Characteristics o Bluegill o Largemouth Bass o Crappie o Catfish David Crosby, VSU Brendan Delbos, DWR · Video showing basic catfish anatomy · Can use a fish model to demonstrate Anatomy and Morphology · This video can be done at the Fish Lab Week 2 May 6 10 am

3. Water Chemistry of Farm Ponds · Ionic interactions with muds and water · Alkalinity · Hardness · pH · Oxygen o Turnovers o Aeration · Other Parameters · The Role of Phosphorous · Muddy Ponds · David Crosby, VSU · Video on how to collect a water sample from our ponds. Week 3 May 13 10 am

4. Aquatic Plants · Aquatic plant ecology · Aquatic Weeds and controls David Crosby, VSU Cynthia Gregg, ANR · Video of various pondweeds at our ponds Week 4 May 20 10 am o Mechanical, Biological, and Chemical · Algae o Phytoplankton o Bluegreen · As a Habitat for Fish Population Agent Brunswick Co · May not have many weeds to show this Time of Year.

5. Recreational Fish Management Part 1 · Pond Balance o How to check a pond for Balance o Reproduction Checks · Predator-prey relationship · Species to stock and not to stock · Fish Structures · Spawning David Crosby, VSU Brendan Delbos, DWR · Animation of the predator /prey relationship · This would show Bass/bluegill interaction · Water too cold for seining Week 5 May 27 10 am

6. Recreational Fish Management Part 2 · Fishing Records · Slot Limits · Feeding · Fertilization program · Liming pond · David Crosby, VSU Brendan Delbos, DWR · Video of feeding fish in our ponds and showing various feeds used for pond management Week 6 June 3 10 am

7. Impoundment Structure · Dam o Design & construction o Safety · Emergency spillway · Maintenance · Watershed · Sediment Control Scott J. Thomas, P.E. Regional Dam Safety Engineer Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Will see if Mr. Thomas has any videos to show. Week 7 June 10 10 am

8. Fish Health and Predators · Diseases of Recreational Fish · Parasites of Fish · Bird-fish interactions o Cormorants o Great Blue herons o Kingfishers o Greenback Herons · Otters, Beavers, and Muskrats David Crosby, VSU Jeffrey A. Rumbaugh Staff Wildlife Biologist USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services · This could be a live video at the Randolph ponds demonstrating various controls by APHIS\still under COVID at Office · Video showing examples of Fish Filet with Blackspot Disease at Fish lab Week 8 June 17 10 am

9. Preserving the Catch · Food Safety · Cleaning and filleting fish o Videos - YouTube · Proper storage · Recipes · Video of cleaning fish · Catfish cleaning in a kitchen environment Week 9 June 24 10 am

10. Farm Pond as Business · Fee fishing o Catfish o Trout o Sport Fishing · Private Recreational use o Boating/Canoeing o Bird/wildlife watching o Camping o Swimming · Permits David Crosby, VSU Brendan Delbos WR · Video of people fishing Week 10 July 1 10 am

11. Aquaculture for Small Impoundment · Production Systems o Cage o Hybrid system o Raceways o Tanks o Pens · Processing Facilities o VDACS · Marketing o Farmers Markets o CSA · Permits David Crosby, VSU Theresa Nartea, VSU · Video of Cages at Randolph Farm. I can be explaining how cages are used in ponds. · Video shot of a Farmer Market. Week 11 July 8 10 am

12. Equipment for Pond Management · Water test kits o Demonstration of Use · Seines · Lawn care Equipment · David Crosby, VSU · Video showing how to use different test kits. This could be a live video in the lab. Week 12 July 15 10 am

General Topics to be Covered:

1. Water Quality and Fish Health

2. Fish Biology and Stocking: how, when, amount, type/permits

3. Feeding You fish and Nutrition requirements: growing, reproduction, etc.

4. Renovations of ponds/permits/ structure for habitat and reproduction

5. Reproduction of fish

6. Fish Predator: what to look for

7. Pond turnovers/pond inputs: lime, carbonates, fertilization/ aeration

8. Weed Control/ Disease Scouting/Permits

9. Food safety/Cleaning fish/proper storage/cooking

10. Turning a hobby into a business

For more information, contact Jessica Harris at jbrown@vsu.edu, or David Crosby at dcrosby@vsu.edu.

YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR ZOOM MEETING LINK ON THE CONFIRMATION PAGE AND IN THE CONFIRMATION EMAIL. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A LINK, PLEASE EMAIL JBROWN@VSU.EDU.

If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Aquaculture Program office at jbrown@vsu.edu or call (804) 524-3292 / TDD (800) 828-1120 during business hours of 8 am. and 5 p.m. to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.