Help,i need a reliable/honest blah nin supplier.

[insane shane]

I have taken on a fishing park in Chonburi and it's going ok but my biggest problem is fish deliveries, i need at least a tonne of fish delivered every month which i have managed to do for the last 2 months but only by using 3 different teams so far!I order in plenty of time and pay in cash but the let downs on delivery dates and last delivery being 30 kgs short (450 kgs was actually 420) despite being very expensive per kg is hard work!

Does anybody have phone numbers for suppliers to deliver to the Chonburi area? if so could you send them to me? thanks in advance,insane.

[weedywhaoo]

If you are interested in cat fish,I might be able to help you.

[insane shane]

What kind of catfish ,what size+ quantitys?

[ozzydom]

Pla Nin are about ,suitable live transport is a bit of a problem for larger quantities,of course price is a big factor.

[insane shane]

Transport is the problem,no complaints about the quality of the fish,very few fish deaths in 5 deliveries it's just the reliability, first thing i've learnt in this game is min stock 400 kgs at all times cos no fish = no customers!

[MAZ3]

My Father in Law is ex Fisheries,he worked for the local Government and delivery etc. He asked what minimum size Pla Nin and minimum delivery weight and frequency. He's a very honest Man. You can PM me.

[DonaldBattles]

I have a fishing park in Chiang Rai and managing and controlling it is a big problem. I have to grow my own pla nin. May I ask how you charge your customers. Here they throw trash in the water, try to cheat on the fish they catch and leave without paying. Do you have any of these problems?

I think you will have to grow your own pla nin. Within 7 months they can be as big as 700 grams.

[insane shane]

MAZ3,

Sounds great,i'll PM you with some details/contact number,cheers.

[insane shane]

I have a fishing park in Chiang Rai and managing and controlling it is a big problem. I have to grow my own pla nin. May I ask how you charge your customers. Here they throw trash in the water, try to cheat on the fish they catch and leave without paying. Do you have any of these problems?

I think you will have to grow your own pla nin. Within 7 months they can be as big as 700 grams.

Good afternoon Donald,

Got to agree keeping the place clean is a bit of a job but i've placed bins at every sala/fishing spot and i get my staff to go around tidying up while the customers are there so keeping on top of it, think i've had a few sneak out with the odd fish but fencing the perimeter and only 1 way in/out seems to have sorted that, we charge the customers for the fishing on the way in,60 baht per rod with 1kg of free fish per rod,we give 1 ticket per rod and when they leave we check the ticket and weigh the fish,anything over 1kg is then charged at 70 baht per kilo.

Thinking about stocking some small Tub Tim to grow on but need 1/1.5 tonne of nin every month to keep up with demand!

Cheers shane.

[DonaldBattles]

Shane: I only open 6 months out of the year and only on Sat. and Sun. You are pushing a lot of fish.

If you start growing your on in restricted areas it cost about 1.28 Baht in food for kg of pla nin up till about 700 grams. The Thais like catfish (pla duc) but they don't like pla suwai.

Do you allow them to bring in their own food and beverages?

[insane shane]

We put a 50b charge on bringing in alcahol but not on food,the restuarant has only been open full time for about 1 month and it's going really well, the wifes doing some good food and we're seeing less and less brought in by the customers. we're only using about 50% of the lake atm,need to get more salas and umbrellas and i reckon we can double what we are doing now as long as i can get the fish!

[DonaldBattles]

Shane:

Seems like you are doing OK. I might add that the pla duc and pla suwai grow fast and thais like to catch them The pla duc (catfish) can be ready to harvest at about 250 grams in 3 months of feeding 2 times per day.

[insane shane]

We have pla suwai and 4 or 5 pla buk (giant mekong catfish) up to about 30kgs,have a few other species,yeesok,tapian,pla boo ect that were allready in the lake and i cant take those out so i've started to introduce other fish that i know are mine and we can sell, put 100 small (10 baht size) red bellied pacu in about 2 months ago and they are being caught allready and are growing real quick,also put 100 mud carp and 100 giant gourami, next i want some tubtim and knife fish, the pla duc are a good idea so i'll put them on the shopping list to!

Cheers mate,Shane.

[DonaldBattles]

You are fortunate as your water is warm the year round and the fish grow fast.Here from Nov. to March it is cold and the fish do not grow. They eat very little. As a mater of fact they loose a lot of body weight during the cold weather.

My wife said today that she was tired of the Thais trashing the place and we might not re open. I can sell fish to the markets and small shops pretty easy but getting them there when they want them is a problem. Just have to wait and see.

You seem to have a good handle on the situation so keep on trucking.

[slapout]

don have you looked at turtles as a marketable item for your ponds? the chinese will buy as many as they can find and you dont have to deal with the public, coming and trashing the place. i asked on this forum a fewl weeks back if anyone had tried or were engaged in turtle farming, but never got a reply. just a thought good luck.

[DonaldBattles]

I have put some turtles in my lower lake. They are for sale very cheap in the local market. Not sure how I will be able to catch them. The Chinese tourist here are generally headed up by the tour guides in vans and don't see them out this way.

Yesterday we took about 30 kg of fish out of the upper lake. Missing are the catfish that I put in last Sept. Only one big snake head was caught. There millions of baby pla nin that have reproduced.

[slapout]

we used to catch turtles by nailing fish hooks near the top and around a log/tree stump, put bait on top of the stump. the turtles as they climb for the bait become stuck on the fish hooks and you harvest by hand. those that do get to the bait become hooked as they try to return to the pond. larger hooks/1 inch across or so are best.

[insane shane]

I understand what you mean about trashing the place,rubbish,furniture moved from sala to sala and broken,nets broken and stolen,i can imagine it would wear you down after a while lets see how i feel about it when my 3 year rental is up?

Have you thought about opening it as a fishing resort rather than a fishing park,better qaulity of customer i would think?,a bit of initial investment in bungalows ect but i love staying at them myself and you tend to meet nice people at them,families usually.