third time's the charm

On November 13th, we had our third, most successful fish harvest! We harvested tank 14, which I purchased last November during my first trip to Haiti, so that was cool to be there from the beginning - all my babies grew up...and now they're dead...Anyways, I'm sure you're just have to know what a typical fish harvest looks like! They've all been extremely different so I'll tell the magical tale of how they each went down.

First Try - Tank 16
267 Tilapia

Last time this fish was seen alive...cause of death: kisses

Being a first harvest, we had a lot to learn. It was in May and my advisor, Cathy, came down to help. It was decided to purge the fish into a separate tank with clean water a few days before the harvest. This was supposed to help with the taste of the fish. Well, that didn't work out so well. The fish didn't like their new tank, and I can't blame them. They had this beautiful blue tank and were forced into a black one. Black is so depressing. And that's what killed the fish...one day before the scheduled harvest. They were upset from the move, excreted a bunch of ammonia, and ultimately committed fish suicide. It was a sad day but since the fish weren't dead for that long, we went ahead and harvested them. Although we didn't have the staff there to clean them, we made it work by pulling some ladies out of the kitchen to help. On the plus side we didn't have to kill them, the fish did that for us. 

So, what did we learn from this experience? For starters, don't move fish, they don't like it. Also, fish scalers are very important to cleaning fish - don't let anyone try to tell you to use the back side of a fillet knife - that person has never cleaned fish before. It's also helpful to have more than 4 people to clean 267 fish. Oh, and fish smell horrible.

Second Try - Tank 15
326 Tilapia

Broken, like my heart.

My roommates like to point out the day before this harvest I was quoted as saying "well, whatever happens tomorrow, it can't be worse than the first fish harvest." I was so, so very wrong. I woke up on the morning of August 21st ready to rule the world and harvest some fish. I got up, ate my strawberry poptart (strawberry is the best flavor simply because they have the best sprinkles - pink, green, yellow AND orange), and headed down to the farm to get things started. The good news is the fish were still alive - we opted out of moving them to a different tank this time.

After checking in on the fishies, I heard the unusual sound of rushing water. I found the sump tank tipped sideways, lifted out of the ground. The pipe that carries well water into the sump had broken and the water had been shooting into the ground, under the sump tank, causing the tank to lift upwards. When this happened, the pumps ran dry. All this chaos started sometime during the night, because in the morning the water flow had stopped throughout the entire system. The fish were all swimming in their ammonia infused water, and getting stressed out, and contemplating fish suicide. There was a point in the day where we thought four tanks were going to be harvested instead of just one. 

Miraculously we made it out and I'm so glad Cathy was here again. The fish harvest was the easy part. Ten ladies from the community came up to help clean the fish. We also had scalers (hooray). The tough part was fixing the sump - and I can't take any credit for that. The day was such a blur, I don't even know if I remember it clearly. I do know that there were about 10 workers from Grace Village who stepped up and were the sole reason we got through that day. The sump tank was removed, its hole was re-dug, dried, and then lined with concrete blocks and cement. It was grueling physical labor that lasted 8 hours. The sump was put back in and the water flow was restored. By the end of the day, the system looked as though nothing even happened, but our bodies sure did. My body ached from scooping out 5 gallon buckets of water from one tank and moving it to another. 

So, what did we learn from this experience? First and foremost, "extension cord" translated into creole can be many things, including a rope to tie up your goat. I got my extension cord that day, but I didn't find anything to tie up my goat with (ba dum psh). Second, never say things like "it couldn't get any worse;" God is listening and I'm sure even He needs a good laugh once in a while. Finally, the fish smell takes about 5 showers and some serious pumice stone scrubbing to finally go away; roommate tested and mother approved.

Third Try - Tank 14
355 Tilapia

I'm not sure who looks better, me or that dead fish...keep your answers to yourself.

Okay, sump tank still in the ground, check. Fish still alive, check (but not for long). This day was already off to a better start than the other two harvests. And it continued to be that way; I can't remember one problem! We started the harvesting around 8:30 and the cleaning began at 9. We worked solid for 5 hours - the time it takes to kill, clean, and wash 355 tilapia, averaging 2 lbs. They were the biggest fish we've harvested. Other than that, there's no exciting tales about this day. I ran this harvest with the Haitian staff, no advisor. I did get some extra help from a few fellow missionaries: Hannah and Shane. Salomon told me: "you know you have a good friend when they help you clean fish," and he's correct! 

For the first time I actually ate some tilapia - Shane filleted 7 fish for all of us to fry up - it was a big family dinner. Although the fish tasted great, the first bite tasted too much like the smell on my hands.  Again, only complaint is the smell :)

The End. 


WAIT! 

What do we do with all the fish? 

We freeze them and eat them in the feeding center at Grace Village. The kids and staff love fish and they're often served in soups or with rice. One harvest provides enough for 6 meals. We also donate a few bags to other Haitian orphanages we support. Also, the ladies that clean the fish each get a bag of fish to take home. The same for the aquaponics workers: Salomon, Franck and Isaac. 

How do we decide when to harvest?

We try to harvest the fish when they average 1.5 - 2 lbs, which we find takes approx. 10 months We purchase the fingerlings when they're just .3 grams and after a couple months we start weighing a small population each week to monitor their progress. 

babies!

Why do fish look so much better with googly eyes?

They just do.