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r~a "They found that the smaller fish are catching up with the bigger fish when we split ahem up; Taylor said. "They were competing with the bigger fish for the food." From there, they'll be divided up and put into even bigger cement tanks until they`re grown. It takes about nine months to raise a fish, and if all goes according to plan, Taylor will raise between 250,000 and 300,000 pounds of fish a year. In building the 10,200-square-foot barn, Taylor's mo#her, Scenobia Taylor, insisted that her son hire local contractors to build the facility. "My mother said we could find people in the area that are just as good as people from the outside," Taylor said. "My mother and father are the silent partners. They have the last say so. They have a very strong sense of community." Tim Gerbing, who has a degree in aquaculture and aquatic biology, is the barn operator. "I was able to help them build this facility," he said as he inspected the fingerlings. "It's good to have someone who knows aquaculture." Dennis DeLong, the aquaculture specialist with N.C. State University, has provided the technical guidance throughout the process. He visits the barn once every week or two and Taylor and Gerbing call and ask him questions on a dally basis, he said. Tilapia is a strong fists that ships well, but the fish must be grown in barns rather than in ponds because they wouldn't survive a winter in North Carolina. North Carolina has about 10 fish barns, with most of them being on the coast. N.C. State has designs already prepared for fish barns, but it's not an easy business to get into because of the initial cast, DeLong said. "That's one of the drawbacks in starting this type of business," DeLong said. "There are high capital costs because it uses specialized equipment." North Carolina produces 2 million to 2.5 million pounds of tilapia per year. Although Taylor plans to ship most of his fish north, he also hopes to sett to area restaurants that want to buy locally grown products. "We would love for them to contact us," Taylor said. "We give a good product. We can tel! you exactly what we feed our fish:' I© p00KMflRK . ~ X~. t3,.,,~ © 2009 by The Durham Herald Company. A!I rights reserved. http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/resources/printfriendly.cf~n?StoiyID=1182399&pageid=l0 7/15/2009