Do-It-Yourself Approaches Are Common In Wisconsin Aquaculture
7/14/2017
WisContext/Wisconsin Public Radio

​By Scott Gordon

Wisconsin is quietly becoming a regional powerhouse in fish and shrimp farming, an industry that supplies about half of the seafood people eat around the world. The practice of raising rather than catching seafood is called aquaculture, and it's growing across the state as buildings ranging from barns to old schoolhouses are converted into year-round facilities.Wisconsin's fish-farming industry is picking up again after spending several years on something of a plateau. A few people involved in aquaculture in the state discussed their work and perspectives of the industry on the July 10, 2017 edition of Wisconsin Public Radio's The West Side...

...Aquaculture operations in Wisconsin vary widely in terms of their size, what they raise and what they do or don't do in-house. Of the approximately 2,800 registered fish farms in the state, only about 130 produce fish on a big commercial scale, said Chris Hartleb, a fisheries biology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and co-director of its Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility in Bayfield. Some registered fish farms are simply backyard ponds stocked by private landowners.

How registered fish farms distribute their products can vary. The Hables' shrimp operation doesn't do any processing and sells directly to consumers. Bullfrog Fish Farm mostly raises rainbow trout, selling to regional stores and restaurants, and processing some into specialty products like a "Famous Smoked Trout Spread."

Hartleb said that such do-it-yourself approaches are typical in Wisconsin aquaculture.

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