cleaning catfish

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  Mayor Barnes records the weight of his prize catch just before it is cleaned.
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  George Carpenter begins a demonstration of cleaning catfish by cutting off the spiny central fin.
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  Catfish are skinned. The tough outer membrane is separated beginning with an incision at the head.
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  The silo in the background holds 15 tons of catfish food. Catfish food is fed in pellet form. It is a high protein diet composed of fish meal, soybeans, corn, and wheat. In the summer, the catfish at the Carpenter pond consume a ton of food each day.
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  The fillet remaining weighs about 65% of the total weight of the fish.
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  The fillet is cleaned in a pan of fresh water.