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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Mann’s Fish Market has made it possible for commercial fishermen to make a living on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley for more than 40 years.
Melvin Mann work on another catch. |
The family-owned business processes and markets fish caught in the western Kentucky lakes. Today, 18 full-time fishermen who work Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley make Mann’s Fish Market east of Draffenville their last stop of the day.
“Melvin Mann has forgotten more about the fish business than most people could ever learn,” said Warren Beeler, assistant director of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Division of Value-Added Animal and Aquaculture Production. “The Manns work hard to run a profitable business. They are a valued member of Kentucky Proud.”
Mann’s purchases and processes more than 300,000 pounds of fish a year. About 75 percent of the fish are catfish, 20 percent are buffalo and 5 percent are spoonbill paddlefish. Mann’s supplies fish to Kentucky Dam Village and Kenlake state resorts, but about 85 percent of its products are sold out of state.
On a typical day, fishermen bring their catch to Mann’s, where the fish are weighed, sorted and placed in concrete holding tanks. From there the fish are processed, mostly by hand to ensure consistency and uniformity. The product then goes into a container with a layer of ice and is put in a cooler for storage until shipment.
Mann’s Fish Market is operated by Melvin and Martha Mann, two sons, a daughter and a son-in-law. It has been in business since 1962 and moved to its current location in 1967.
Kentucky Proud is the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s marketing program for farm products that are grown, raised or processed in the Bluegrass State. More than 500 producers are members of the program. For more information about Kentucky Proud, call the KDA’s marketing office at (502) 564-4983 or go to www.kyproud.com.
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