Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Grass Shrimp Availability

Been looking for a commercial source for grass shrimp for a while with no luck, so I've been pushing my pal Jason to collect and ship shrimp. We connected last night and he may give it a try this Spring, if I agree to help him ship. He is asking $.50/ea with minimum $250 order plus shipping. When I used to help collect Pond Boss Forum orders over 2500 Fattig dropped the price from $.50/ea. to $.35 or $.25/ea [I don't recall], so this pricing isn't too bad in comparison. He's not a fishery guy and lacks the time/expertise to do this, so I think it's got to be worth his while to learn. I'm willing to help teach him and assist these shipments if my time allows - still not a done deal by any means. With Football coaching and pond/fishery management projects looming this Spring I don't want to invest more time into pushing this if there's no interest, so feel free to PM me and if warranted I'll keep encouraging him the best I can to move forward.

The minimum order, rather than the unit price, might give pause to customers who are not confident that the shrimp can survive in there particular pond, but for a lower investment, might try anyway with a few. I am not a business man, so I might be wrong.

Yep, that's why I posted this first. Dragging seines through mud and vegetation sorting bagging packaging shipping and taking 100% risk for live arrival of shrimp is a chore he's not embracing, but I'm trying. After running a mini hatchery for the past several years I have major respect for folks who actually do this for a living and succeed. I'd have been out of business after year one - thankful for my day job!

First, thanks TJ for putting in the time and effort to try to get this going! Just want you to know that us folks out here notice your efforts and truly appreciate them!

Is there anything in the pond he is seining other than grass shrimp? Just a thought...For example, if he finds scuds and crawfish when he's sorting, he might actually have 3 markets he could tap that might make the activity less painful. I know I would jump on the chance to buy some Northern Craws.

I collect and transfer shrimp between my ponds often, but only with a long handled net and nothing on this scale using seine nets or this quantity. However, even during my simple collection efforts I have to meticulously sort through vegetation, mud, tadpoles, and YOY BG, YP, etc. - it's not simple. 1/2" YOY and translucent grass shrimp are not easy to sort through...make 2 mistakes, and a fishery can be altered forever. I ruined my male BG female YP fishery once transferring shrimp during low light conditions, in a hurry to get home, daylight fading, a few YOY BG apparently escaped my sorting - two years later, fishery ruined and drain, seine, nuke and start over.

So, yes there are lots of additional critters that will end up being collected - but I'm not sure there's a market for said critters.

For me it should be simpler since only shrimp and scuds added to small pond. If we get a very large flood, all that could change though.

Yes, I agree with TJ, start doing some of this fish sales work of gathering, getting muddy and cold, picking, sorting, holding, renetting & counting, packaging, boxing, & delivery to shipper, and you will get a NEW respect for what it takes to get it done. Plus don't forget growing and nurturing the stuff. In most cases prices are too cheap IMO.

I'd be interested in trying to get them started again.

I would definitely be in for an order of 500 with no hitchhikers. My forage pond is finally at full bowl, has quite a bit of grass around the edge from the hydro-seeding after construction last year. PK shrimp and scud will be the first inhabitants.