Ohio's roots are in farming. Now, some farmers are trying something innovative: raising fish. Aquaculture, as the practice is known, is on the rise in Ohio, with about 200 farms raising fish.
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Transcript
Geoff Wallat:
My name is Geoff Wallat. I work here at The Ohio State University South Centers. I manage the aquaculture research and demonstration facility farm.
Aquaculture is raising of fish and shellfish, clams, and oysters. Aquaculture is growing quite a bit in Ohio. We have probably over 200 farms now in Ohio. Farmers are getting interested in aquaculture because of either having an existing farm that perhaps their crops are not having as much profitability so they're looking to diversify their farm income. At Ohio State University we have our outreach and extension program. We go around and help farmers around the state with their aquaculture businesses, either existing businesses that are needing help with production or even new businesses, people that are just starting up.
(Sprinkling water.)
This is our aquaculture research building. We have about 200 tanks in here. We have yellow perch, bluegill--our two primary species that we're doing the research on. These larger tanks are on our recirculating aquaculture system. The water comes into this blue tub, that separates most of the waste out of the water. After that it comes to the bio filter here. The small beads have a lot of surface area on them and will allow bacteria to grow on them, that will actually break down ammonia, which is the primary biproduct of fish, into a less harmful nitrate. After that it trickles through those and is returned back to the tank in a continuous loop.
One of our main focuses is on the yellow perch, and we are doing a genetic improvement program, breeding program with the yellow perch, trying to produce faster and larger growing fish. Yellow perch traditionally are fairly small fish and it takes up to two years to grow them to market size. We're hoping with our genetic improvement program of faster growth that we can cut that production time down. This is probably pretty typical of what you might catch on Lake Erie, though the age is different. In a culture situation we can get them up to this size in two to three years. A perch that's 10 to 12 inches long up on Lake Erie is probably about five to six years old, so we're cutting that growth time in half by having more controlled conditions in aquaculture.
We also do some work with freshwater shrimp, or prawns. We have about 30 farms in Ohio this past year have done freshwater shrimp culture, up from, we started with about four in 2002m so we've seen an increase in growth there. That's a species that takes a short growing situation, from June to about September. And they're able to market locally. This is the freshwater shrimp that's now being raised here in Ohio, and that's market size after approximately three months of culture in the ponds. You will get some size variations. The females actually will grow a little bit larger than the males. Ohio State has the advantage of having probably the largest research and demonstration facility in the midwest. We have had contact with some of the other midwestern states as well as helping farmers in Ohio. Our program is gaining a lot of national reputation as well for the program as well for the work we're doing with the genetics and the bluegill.
Yellow perch, fresh from Lake Erie, is one of the pleasures of summer.
Thanks to Ohio State research and outreach efforts, fresh perch is available year round throughout the state--not just the northern coastline.
How? Aquaculture, or fish farming.
Genetic researchers at The Ohio State University South Centers are learning how to grow bigger perch, faster; the centers' aquaculture specialists canvass the state, helping farmers correctly set up ponds and pools.
With their help, fish farming is becoming big business in Ohio. About 200 fish farms throughout the state generate about $5.3 million annually, the specialists estimate, up about 170 farms and $3.5 million since 1998. Some of the farms raise only fish--teachers, for instance, who raise shrimp in their summers off. Others are full-time farmers who want to add fish to their existing wares.
"Farmers are getting interested in going in to diversify their income," says Ohio State aquaculture specialist Geoff Wallat.
Diners can detect a difference between farmed perch and wild perch, says aquaculture specialist Laura Tiu, but they haven't noted a preference.
At the South Centers in Piketon, yellow perch, shrimp, and bluegill are raised in a 3,000-square-foot "wet lab." Genetic researchers work nearby.
They've already made strides: Controlled conditions in the wet lab mean faster-growing perch.
During a recent visit to the lab, Wallat reached into a research tank and pulled a yellow perch that measured about a foot long.
"We can get them up to this size in probably two to three years," he said. "A perch that's 10 to 12 inches long up on Lake Erie is probably five to six years old, so we're cutting that growth time in half."
(This video was produced as Ohio State programming for the Big Ten network.)
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