ALthough it's hard work, dredging is cheap, fast, and reliable if you have somewhere to dump the spoils. You will probably need very long runs of large hose, and that's expensive. You could pump the spoils directly into dump trucks, but all that water is not good for them.

Then, there's the question of of whether your pond will hold water. Sand and gravel veins can drain a pond lickety split in dry spells.

Shrimp