Sampling of carp blood at a aquaculture pond

For functional assay and protein purification/characterization of fish complement system, we regularly visit a culture pond of the common carp located at just outside of Fukuoka City for bleeding. The carp are big enough to get 30-50 ml of total blood, yielding 10-25 ml serum. This day, we processed 40 carp, weighing about 1.5 kg each. For new students of my laboratory, this sampling activity is an important practice and introduction to our laboratory research. They'll be realized how laborious is this fundamental procedure for our study.

After bit painful labor, the students enjoyed a good lunch, grilled eel on the rice and sashimi (raw meat) and soup of fresh carp, in a restaurant next to the culture pond.