Blue Revolution: Farming Water to Grow Food · • Aquaponics is an integrated, soilless system for raising fish and plants. • Benefits: • Sustainable and natural • Highly efficient

Blue Revolution: Farming Water to Grow Food

Chris Hartleb Professor of Fisheries Biology

Director Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility Aquaponic Innovation Center

Revolutions

• American • French • Industrial • Green

Blue Revolution

If Modern Agriculture Were Invented Today – It Probably Wouldn’t Be Allowed

• It pollutes the environment – Pesticides – Fertilizers – Nutrients

• Feed and waste • Damages habitats and wildlife • Domesticated animals are stocked at high densities

– Hormones – Antibiotics

All Farming Alters and Damages The Environment

• Most agriculture has the luxury of polluting the landscape first and worrying about the consequences later.

• Aquaculture is “Johnny come lately” • Must address environmental, social, and economic concerns.

For Comparison

Black Angus beef versus Atlantic salmon Hanging weight of Black Angus is 70% of live weight; edible meat is 42% of live

weight. Gutted Atlantic salmon is 84% of live weight; salmon fillet is 50% of live weight.

Benthos under a salmon cage chemically remediates in 6 months – 1 year; & biologically remediates in 2 years.

An old growth forest cleared for cattle pasture will remediate in >200 years.

Type of food Live weight (kg)

Edible portion (kg)

Yield Spatial footprint (ha)

Remediation time (years)

Atlantic salmon 2,500,000 1,250,000 0.50 1.6 2

Angus beef cattle 2,976,190

1,250,000 0.42 6,982 >200

Where Will They Come From?

Aquaculture Overtakes Commercial

Fish Facts

• Global fish production has grown at an average annual rate of 3.2% over the past 50 years. – Per capita fish consumption

has increased from 9.9 kg in the 1960’s to 19.2 kg in 2012.

• Population growth • Expansion of fish

production

Producer National total (million tons)

Share of world total (%)

China >41 61.7

India 4.2 6.3

Vietnam 3.08 4.6

Indonesia 3.06 4.6

Bangladesh 1.7 2.6

Norway 1.3 2.0

Thailand 1.2 1.9

Chile 1.07 1.6

Egypt 1.01 1.5

Myanmar 0.89 1.3

Philippines 0.79 1.2

Brazil 0.71 1.1

Japan 0.63 1.0

Republic of Korea 0.48 0.7

USA 0.42 0.6

Top 15 subtotal >61.7 million 92.7

Trade Imbalance

• Fish and fish products are the single largest food commodities that are traded internationally.

• 80% of seafood consumed in U.S. is imported. • 1% of seafood imported into U.S. is inspected.

How Should Aquaculture As An Industry Grow?

– Technology innovation and transfer: • Breeding • Disease control • Feeds & nutrition • Low impact production systems

– Spatial planning – Reward sustainability – Shift to low-trophic species

Aquaculture Uses More Wild Fish Than It Produces

• Aquaculture uses ½ metric ton of wild fish to produce one metric ton of farmed seafood.

• Net producer of protein • Fish are best at feed conversion

• Fish don’t need fishmeal and oil. • It is nearly the perfect balance for

nutrition • Fish meal content of fish feed was 70%

in 1972 but is 35% today.

Farmed Fish Aren’t Safe To Eat

• No Farmed fish are on the “avoid” list due to contaminants. – Only one ocean ranched fish is on the avoid list and it is

due to pollution (Atlantic salmon). – U.S. seafood it regulated by:

• Food & Drug Administration • National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration • U.S. Department of Agriculture • Environmental Protection Agency

Farmed Fish Are Contaminated

• Growth hormones are not allowed in U.S. aquaculture. • Non-theraputic use of antibiotics is not allowed in U.S.

aquaculture.

Fish Waste Harms the Ecosystem

• Only net-pen aquaculture was identified.

• Modern net-pen facilities must meet strict federal and state standards.

• Farmers monitor feed input because it is the most expensive part of the operation.

Farmed Fish Don’t Taste Good

Rank Type Pounds/person

1 Shrimp* 4.10

2 Canned tuna 2.80

3 Salmon* 1.84

4 Tilapia* 1.34

5 Pollock 1.19

6 Catfish* 0.92

7 Crab 0.61

8 Cod 0.44

9 Pangasius (Basa, Asian catfish)*

0.43

10 Clams? 0.34

• You’re already eating them. • > 50% of seafood consumed

is farm-raised.

UWSP-Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility Bayfield, WI

• The mission of the UWSP-Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility is to promote public education and advance the discovery, dissemination and application of knowledge for sustainable aquaculture in a northern climate.

– This is accomplished through technology transfer, applied research, demonstration, education and outreach.

All Types of Production Systems

Recirculating (Recycle) Aquaculture

Flow-through (Raceways)

Ponds

UWSP-NADF Recipe for Success = Partnerships

• Protocol for lake herring production Collaboration with Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Stock enhancement for Great Lakes • Feasibility of raising Arctic char in recirculating systems

AquaTerra, Bristol, WI • Atlantic salmon

Vancouver, BC • Hybrid walleye

Northside Enterprises, Black Creek, WI

Growth Rates of Walleye & Hybrids

Weig ht g ain of H ybrid Walleye R eared in R ec yc le S ys tem at 23 C

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

50 66 95 114 159 192 235 270 310 370 430 490 560

Da ys P ost Ha tc h

Gra

ms

F ingerling phas e IID GR =0.5 g/day

Growout phas e III-IVD GR =1.4 g/day

Edible Success Hybrid walleye in under 1-year

Promote Responsible Aquaculture

Aquaponics • Aquaponics is an integrated, soilless system for

raising fish and plants. • Benefits:

• Sustainable and natural • Highly efficient • Conservative uses of resources, water, space

and labor • Free of pesticides, herbicides and chemical

fertilizers • Produces both a protein and a vegetable crop

from one integrated system • Continuous production of food 365 days per

year

Nutrient Film Technique

Media Beds

Raft / Deep Water Culture

Compromise

Plants

Compromise: Temperature: 70-80oF / 21 - 26oC pH = 7.0

Bacteria

Parameter Optimum Range

Temperature: Nitrosomonas Nitrobacter

68 – 86oF / 20 – 30oC 82 – 100oF / 28 – 38oC

pH: Nitrosomonas Nitrobacter

7.8 – 8.0 7.3 – 7.5

Parameter Range

Temperature 60-80oF / 15-26oC

pH Preferred: 5.8 - 6.2 Maximum: 7.0 - 7.5

Parameter Range

Temperature 60-80oF / 15-26oC

pH 7.0 – 8.0

Fish

Why It Works

• Diet similarities • Heterotrophic additions • Controlled environment agriculture =

year-round production

Fish Plants

Phosphorus Phosphorus

Manganese Manganese

Copper Copper

Iron Iron

Potassium Potassium

Calcium Calcium

Magnesium Magnesium

Zinc Zinc

Cobalt Boron*

Selenium Molybdenum*

Iodine Sulfur*

Protein Nitrogen

Aquaponics as a Commercial Industry Status - • Small but rapidly growing industry –

experiencing exponential growth. • Driven by:

• Food security & Food quality • Community demand for locally grown • Limited fresh water and land

Industry Needs - • Industry and student demand for further

education in aquaponics.

• Enthusiasm > Knowledge

• Employment opportunities

• Food security for all nations

• Currently have

• Investors looking to establish large commercial ventures.

• Students looking for information on how to pursue a career in aquaponics.

• Further research in crop diversity and system efficiency

Aquaponics survey respondents by zip code (Love et al. 2014. PLoS ONE 9(7).)

Aquaponics Innovation Center

• Funded as part of the UW-System Economic Development Incentive Grant

UWSP-Aquaponics Innovation Center

Nelson and Pade, Inc.® Demonstration Greenhouse

Aquaponics Innovation Center

Meeting the Needs of an Industry • Educational opportunities • Economic incubator for an industry • Catalyst for economic growth • Commercialize discoveries • New business innovation • Economic development in blue-green industry

Results • Growing an Industry

– Partnership – Education – Research – Innovation

Change

• Aquaculture needs to improve – < 30 years of large-scale commercial aquaculture – Domestication

• People need to change. – Farm down the food chain – Water recycle systems

How Green is the Blue Revolution?

Enjoy!