State's farmers of fish reeling
By KEVIN BOUFFARD The Ledger
Friday, December 31, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Tropical fish farmers, already worry about the long-term battering their industry may suffer following two major freezes this month.
Tropical fish farmers face economic damage in both the short term and the long term, said Art Rawlins, president of the Florida Tropical Fish Farm Association Inc., who runs a farm in Lithia.
Losses at Florida fish farms topped 70 percent in the wake of the two December freezes. It could take most of next year to recover, allowing low-cost producers in Asia to capture a bigger share of the U.S. market.
Gov. Charlie Crist asked the federal government Thursday for an emergency disaster declaration to allow farmers to access relief money in more than two dozens counties as far south as Palm Beach.
Florida's tropical fish farmers have battled Asian competition for more than 20 years, Rawlins said.
In the 1980s, Florida fish farms had a 90 percent share of the U.S. tropical fish sales, with the rest coming from Asia, he said. The current split is 40 percent Florida and 60 percent Asia.
Fish stocks at his Lithia farm and elsewhere in Florida were just beginning to recover from the January 2010 freeze, which also saw losses of more than 70 percent, Rawlins said.
Regaining market share could prove more difficult if December's freezes put many tropical fish farms out of business.
"I would not be surprised if some farmers are not able to make it," said Mike Drawdy of Imperial Tropicals in Lakeland. "It will be tough unless you're an old, established farm where your property is all paid for. If you have a big note, I don't see how you can survive."
(parts of this report regarding citrus farmers have been removed)
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