Page 10 - Koi Net - On-Line Koi Magazine - Issue 50
P. 10
my Japanese hosts I had nowhere to put my first Koi
shipment, mainly due to the fact as mentioned in my
first article I had massively overspent in money and the
number of Koi purchased. Looking back stupidly at this
point I had no business up and running to promote my
Koi and sell them back in the UK, something I realised
that I better sort out and sort out quick!
In the UK I had decided to set up my first Koi tanks in a
IT WAS HERE I building that I had on our family fishing and caravan
park business, based in Norfolk, called Waveney Valley
DECIDED TO Lakes Caravan Park. Many Koi keepers are also carp
SET UP MY anglers and these days many people will know the
history of these lakes my family started in 1962, this
VERY FIRST was the first commercial carp fishing and caravan
KOI SELLING holiday centre in the UK. It seemed at the time the
perfect place for me to start my business.
There was always a sold by breeders went into the Japanese market, in fact CENTRE
large selection of Koi most breeders told me that nearly 90% of their Koi was Fortunately there was a large, mainly empty, ex-chicken
to choose from. rearing building on our park and it was here I decided
sold into Japan while only 10% was exported. They to set up my very first Koi selling centre. I drew on
actually would not really of known as the agents would the experience that I had learnt while working at
not disclose where they sold their Koi, so it may have Wildwoods Water Garden centre in Enfield selling Koi
been more than 10% but still not much more. Also the and also again from my family building the first
agents would not pay for the Koi they bought at that commercial carp farm in 1975 at our home in Essex,
point but would give an honourable agreement (an IOU) called Fishers Green. Both these things gave me the
that they would pay for the Koi on their next visit. In confidence to build my Koi tanks and filtration unit up
some cases this meant that a Japanese agent would in Norfolk. So during the winter of 1981 and early 1982
come in the autumn to select Koi, take them away, and I put in place a series of fibreglass tanks that were
not pay for them until they returned the following spring! filtered by a large single filter. I have looked hard to find
UNKNOWN TO Then they would take more Koi in the spring and again pictures of this and amazingly cannot find any that
not pay for them until the autumn. This to me did not
MY JAPANESE seem a great way to work and must of effected the Martin and Hara san, 1987. show my first Koi centre sadly. Now I just needed a
company name and to introduce myself to the UK
breeders’ cash flow, but back then many Japanese Koi
HOSTS I HAD hobbyists came to the mountains to buy Koi directly Koi world. I finally settled for the name ‘Waveney
Waterworld’ as we were located in the Waveney Valley
NOWHERE TO from the breeders, so I presume this was how they along the river Waveney which splits the counties of
managed to allow the agents to do this. This way of
PUT MY FIRST working and paying was something that we changed Norfolk and Suffolk.
KOI SHIPMENT later in the mid-1990s. I decided at first just to advertise locally to see the
I had watched my Koi that I had picked and Hara san’s response, of course I could have advertised in the then
BKKS magazines, maybe the reason I didn’t at first
Koi being loaded up into one large fish transporting lorry
was I needed to see if I was good enough to do this
and driven back to Tokyo. Arriving back at Hara san’s
new business. There was one other small matter and
facility I watched the Koi being put into nets and sorted,
that was to get the other £28,000 to pay for the whole
over the next few months they would be kept here,
shipment. As I said before I went with my huge budget
treated for any parasites and prepared for my shipment
of £3,000 and totally lost the plot and in the end spent
in February 1982. I was happy to do this as unknown to
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