Blue Revolution: Farming Water to Grow Food

Chris Hartleb Professor of Fisheries Biology Director Northern 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 Edible portion Yield Spatial footprint Remediation time (kg) (kg) (ha) (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

Producer National total Share of world total Facts (million tons) (%) >41 61.7 India 4.2 6.3 • Global fish production has Vietnam 3.08 4.6 grown at an average annual Indonesia 3.06 4.6 1.7 2.6 rate of 3.2% over the past 50 Norway 1.3 2.0 years. Thailand 1.2 1.9 – Per capita fish consumption Chile 1.07 1.6 Egypt 1.01 1.5 has increased from 9.9 kg Myanmar 0.89 1.3 in the 1960’s to 19.2 kg in Philippines 0.79 1.2 2012. Brazil 0.71 1.1 • Population growth Japan 0.63 1.0 Republic of Korea 0.48 0.7 • Expansion of fish USA 0.42 0.6 production 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 • You’re already eating them.

1 Shrimp* 4.10 • > 50% of seafood consumed 2 Canned tuna 2.80 is farm-raised. 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 0.43 catfish)* 10 Clams? 0.34 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

Weight gain of Hybrid Walleye Reared in Recycle S ystem at 23 C

700

600 G rowout phas e III-IV 500 DGR =1.4 g/day

400

Grams 300 F ingerling phas e II 200 DGR =0.5 g/day 100

0 50 66 95 114 159 192 235 270 310 370 430 490 560 Da ys P ost Ha tc h 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 Bacteria Parameter Range Parameter Optimum Range Temperature 60-80oF / 15-26oC Temperature: pH Preferred: 5.8 - 6.2 Nitrosomonas 68 – 86oF / 20 – 30oC Maximum: 7.0 - 7.5 Nitrobacter 82 – 100oF / 28 – 38oC pH: Nitrosomonas 7.8 – 8.0 Fish Nitrobacter 7.3 – 7.5 Parameter Range o o Compromise: Temperature 60-80 F / 15-26 C Temperature: 70-80oF / 21 - 26oC pH 7.0 – 8.0 pH = 7.0 Why It Works

Fish Plants • Diet similarities Phosphorus Phosphorus • Heterotrophic additions Manganese Manganese Copper Copper • Controlled environment agriculture = year-round production Iron Potassium Potassium

Calcium

Magnesium Magnesium

Zinc Zinc

Cobalt Boron*

Selenium Molybdenum*

Iodine Sulfur*

Protein Nitrogen Aquaponics as a Commercial Industry

Status - Industry Needs - • Small but rapidly growing industry – • Industry and student demand for further experiencing exponential growth. education in aquaponics. • Driven by: • Enthusiasm > Knowledge • & Food quality • Employment opportunities • Community demand for locally grown • Limited fresh water and land • 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

Nelson and Pade, Inc.® Demonstration Greenhouse

UWSP-Aquaponics Innovation Center 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!