Session IX-6: Pond interview - week nine

Time frame: Approximately 20 minutes per trainee

Note: This pond interview should take place fairly early in the week but after trainees have had a day or two to work with their ponds since returning from the field trip. With so much else to do and the final harvest day in sight, it is tempting and easy for trainees to rationalize a relatively static management approach at this point. It is important to encourage them to utilize their ponds up to the last possible minute, and this pond interview can be helpful in getting that point across. Please refer to Pond Interview: Week Four in Chapter Twelve for objectives, overview, procedures and trainer notes. Everything remains the same in this pond interview except the questions. An example of the questions that can be asked in this interview follows:

Date:_________ Name:_____________________________

1. How many times have you sampled your pond? When was your last sample, and what technique did you use?

2. Based on your last sample, what is the average weight of your fish and how much have they grown? What has been your FCR?

3. If you were an extension agent visiting this pond, what advice would you give the manager?

4. What changes or modifications have you been making in your management since returning from the field trip to maximize production?

5. Do you anticipate making a profit next week? Why or why not?