By Emily Wood
 
June 19, 2009
 
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - A Klamath County man is hoping to make history as the first person to raise and harvest Tilapia fish in the state of Oregon.
 
Ron Barnes,owns Gone Fishing, a company that has been raising and selling tropical fish as pets for more than 20 years.
 
"There is such a movement now in Oregon and on the entire West Coast where people want to know where their food is grown and how and under what conditions," says Gone Fishing Owner Ron Barnes.
 
Before Barnes could start raising Tilapia, he needed a permit from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
 
"To get Tilapia approved for the state of Oregon required a review by the Invasive Species Group. That is a citizens group made up of citizens as well as professionals," says ODFW Fish Biologist Roger Smith.
 
Barnes has four ponds that hold Tilapia. Currently there are 4,000 pounds of fish in the ponds, but they can hold up to 15,000 pounds.
 
"If Tilapia were a fish that would survive in the wild here, it would be very very different for them to allow you to do that. But because this is such a tropical animal, we were able to demonstrate that they simply can't survive here, so they were able to allow us to do it," says Barnes.
 
Barnes says the basin is a perfect place to raise these fish because of the access to geothermal water allowing him to regulate the water's temperature year round.
 
Sherm's Thunderbird Market in Klamath Falls is Barnes' first customer. They are interested in buying his Tilapia and selling it as a locally grown product in the Klamath Basin.