There’s an exciting new technique in town for catfish producers: the use of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)! Find out more at the Chinese Catfish Hatchery and Spawning Workshop, which will be held at the Waimanalo Research Station’s Aquaponics Lab on Saturday, September 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon. The workshop is geared to intermediate and advanced commercial and non-commercial practitioners of aquaculture and aquaponics. It will cover the use of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) to control maturation and induce spawning of Chinese catfish in Hawa‘ii’s tropical environment. A certificate of training completion will be issued for producers who wish to obtain HCG. The three-hour workshop includes an overview of spawning and hatchery procedures and information on feeding to insure good egg quality of broodstock. Additionally, the workshop will cover the legal risks of the use of HCG. The remainder of the course will be a hands-on demonstration of induction of spawning and artificial fertilization techniques. Former CTAHR faculty Kai Fox will cover the history of Chinese catfish culture in Hawai’i, the physiology behind how HCG mimics GTH1/GTH2 in fish, optimal broodstock care in preparation for spawning, and the actual injection/dosages. Extension veterinarian Jenee Odani will discuss the basics of the drug, controlled drugs in general, veterinary client–patient relationships, fish anatomy, injection site, and drug residue avoidance. Extension agent Jensen Uyeda will talk about the use of catfish effluent to fertilize dryland taro. For more information, you can email lipuupuu@hawaii.edu. To register, go to this Eventbrite site. The workshop fee is $10 per person.