Ohio To Raise Own Bait

As the practice of fish farming in Ohio continues to progress, more farmers are in need of bait fish, which is a fish used as bait to catch larger fish.

There is a variety of bait fish, including goldfish and carp. Two of the main bait fish raised in Ohio include the spotfin shiner and the emerald shiner.

For many years Ohio has imported bait fish from other states like Minnesota and Wisconsin.

However, aqauculture specialists discovered there is plenty of land and water that is suitable to a variety of cool and cold water species.

For the last five years, aquaculture researchers at Ohio Center for Aquaculture Development have worked on enhancing the development of the spotfin shiner. Enhancement can only be done on the spotfin shiner as its biologically fit to be farm raised.

However, the same does not apply to the emerald shiner as it’s a wild caught baitfish.

Shawn McWhorter, aquaculture specialist and research associate, works at the Bowling Green Satellite Aquaculture center. McWhorter’s research focuses on enhancing the practice of fish farming and the development of bait fish.