blueridge

Why a Koi Tattoo?

By: leelefever on May 27, 2006 - 6:36pm

My decision to get a tattoo, and specifically Koi tattoo, was not something that I took lightly and I wanted something with lasting importance. For me, nothing is more symbolic than a Koi.

  Throughout my life, these fish have played a significant and enduring role through my family’s business of breeding and raising high quality Koi and goldfish for the US market.  Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery was founded by my father in 1958.

Yes, I grew up the son of a fish farmer.  The way some grow up milking cows, herding sheep, growing rice or baling hay, I grew up breeding, counting, feeding and packaging millions of fish on a goldfish farm in Kernersville, NC, USA.  Just outside of the house where I grew up are fields of water (ponds) used for growing Koi and goldfish.  As a kid, my friends and I would ride motorcycles around the farm and on more than one occasion, our motorcycles ended up at the bottom of a Koi-filled pond.

As a teenager, I would drive a cargo van filled with boxes of live fish in water to the airport for shipment all over the US.  Let me tell you, a vehicle full of water is difficult to keep between the lines as the water sways back and forth.  Conversations over dinner were often dominated by talk of raising, selling and breeding Koi (which bored me to death as a kid).  These fish were as much a part of my life as going to school, skateboarding with my friends or eating chocolate chip cookies.

 

In the 1980s and 90s, Blue Ridge became one of the nations largest and most successful breeders of domestic Koi, selling millions of fish a year.  Also in that time, my father, uncle and brother introduced a new type of Koi to the market called the Butterfly Koi (above), which is marked by long flowing fins.  Now, all over the world, these fish are bred and sold under the name “Butterfly Koi” and my brother Randy is the person that gave them that name.  This development increased the success of Blue Ridge and likewise, our family’s contribution to the history of the Koi. 

From my personal experiences, Koi have come to symbolize family, innovation, prosperity and strength.  And so, I have chosen to mark my skin with the image of a Butterfly Koi, in the country where the Koi breeding originated (Japan) and on a place on my body where the Koi will always be close to my heart. I cannot imagine anything more appropriate for me and my arm.

 

See also:  So, I Got a Tattoo 


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Fish Farming at Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery

By: leelefever on December 29, 2005 - 5:50pm
My family's business, Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery, often inspires a bit of curiousity in those that hear about it.  Blue Ridge is one of the nation's largest and highest quality producers of Koi, or japanese carp, and this post is all about Blue Ridge and how it raises and sells fish.
 

A Little History

 
My Dad, Wyatt LeFever, grew up around fish farming.  His grandfather founded a company called Berry Water Gardens which became a national supplier to the pet industry and sold mostly tropical (warm water) fish for aquariums.  He saw a niche to sell goldfish, which are cold water fish, also for aquariums.
 
In 1958 he founded Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery and became one of a small number of organizations to sell goldfish in the US.  In the past 48 years Blue Ridge has experienced a lot of growth, innovation and a few diseases. The biggest innovation was the Butterfly Koi, which you can read about here.  Over the years, Koi have become the specialty of Blue Ridge, and most end up in garden pools across the country.
 
In the last 5 years my brother Randy and uncle Rick have become the sole owners and operators of Blue Ridge. 
 

Hatching and Raising Fish

 
As a hatchery, Blue Ridge breeds fish. The company has breeder fish that are put together in the spring and a few weeks later, eggs are gathered and hatched in high tech hatching cones.  Once the baby fish or "fry" reach a certain size, they are turned out into the ponds to mature.  
 
The fish are then fed (via automated feeders) from a consistent part of the pond. Over time, this teaches them to come to a particular corner when a truck arrives.  When it comes time to harvest the fish, a net with weights on the bottom and floaters on the top called a "seine" is stretched across the corner of the pond trapping the fish. They are placed in buckets and into trucks that haul them to the distribution facility where they are sorted by size and color.
 
Selling Fish
 
The fish are kept in vats until they are sold.  The vats have a constant supply of water that is constantly filtered with biological and ultra violet radiation filters, ensuring health.
 
Once the fish are ordered, they are counted and packed into plastic bags filled with oxygen and placed inside cardboard boxes.  The vast majority are shipped on commercial airline freight across the country.
 
Not all the fish sold by Blue Ridge are raised by the company.  A percentage are raised in Arkansas and resold by Blue Ridge.
 
To give you an idea of the scale, Blue Ridge may sell over 20 million fish in a year.  The biggest market in the last 10 years has been in Koi for garden ponds, though a higher percentage of normal goldfish are sold as "feeder" fish, which are bred for the purpose of feeding bigger fish.
 

About Koi

 
Koi orginated in Japan and is a colorful version of the common Carp, which can be found in lakes and rivers around the world.  Today Japan remains the leader in high quality Koi, some of which compete in shows and competitions.  Blue Ridge's breeders or "brood stock" are bought in Japan and shipped to North Carolina to become the parents of the Koi Blue Ridge sells.
 
You can read a recent interview with my brother Randy here. 
 
Here some other pictures...
 
This photo of various Koi was taken in the pool in the next picture...
 
 
 
Sachi and Koi at my parent's house in Kernersville... 
 
 

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Southern Hospitality and Fish Farms

By: leelefever on December 28, 2005 - 7:55am
There are a few parts of the country near my hometown that are perfect examples of smalltown and rural America.  In fact, my Mom is from the area that most people know as Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show, called Mt. Airy, which is about an hour away. 
 
Near the border of North Carolina and Virgina are rural areas with farms, country roads, old tobacco barns and rolling hills.  The place has a down-home country feel that is very much a part of my family. You will never meet nicer and more welcoming people than folks from this part of the country. They are almost dripping with southern hospitality and have a lot of pride in their country ways. It's a culture all it's own.
 
Today we went to visit my uncle Rick and his family in Patrick County, Virginia, just across the border from NC. He runs the product side of the fish hatchery and has his own little paradise nestled in the hills, complete with a deer hunting stand called "the condo". Tonight we heard about 20 stories over beer, chicken and dumplings, mustard greens and cornbread - good ole country cookin. Thanks Sheila!
 
Sachi and I spent the afternoon exploring the fish farm on a 4 wheeler.  On this particular farm there are about 60 ponds at about 1-3 acres each. Lots of water.  It's one of about 5 fish farms.
 
I always say that going up to my uncle's place is a cultural expereince, especially for Sachi, who loves being there, but has a hard time understanding everyone when they speak.
 
 

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