On our trip to Arkansas, I learned that there are a lot more things involved in catfish farming than the fish. The animal that was probably most noticeable when we first arrived was the double-crested cormorant. This bird was originally not heavily populated in the USA until the introduction of large scale aquaculture, specifically catfish farming. Now that catfish farming has started to increase, so has the cormorant population. Most catfish farmers will say that cormorants are their number one nuisance.
Some farmers spend exorbitant amounts of money to control the population.
In one night a single cormorant can cause hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars in damage due to eating small defenseless catfish. The cormorant is not the only type of nuisance around the catfish farms. Some of the other types were muskrats, snow geese, and many different kinds of ducks. Though we did not see many muskrats and snow geese, we did see a variety of ducks. Before going on our trip, I already knew that Arkansas was a great spot for duck hunting, so I had it set in my mind that I was going to find out if the ducks were a problem or if they being used to bring more business.