The decline in Northeast groundfish landings is forcing New Hampshire fishermen to develop new opportunities to remain economically sustainable. At the same time, the Northeast is struggling to meet the steadily-increasing consumer demand for locally produced seafood. Aquaculture is a proven means for producing seafood year-round; over half of the world’s seafood comes from aquaculture sources. To address the needs for future and existing US aquaculture producers, practical research is needed to develop scalable and economically sustainable opportunities which are relevant to industry.
This research will be conducted at the farm scale to develop a series of integration strategies for improving the economic sustainability of US aquaculture in the Northeast. Integrating recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) with hydroponic plant production will improve energy and resource utilization and increase the return on investment for costly treatment processes. However, the integration of fish and plant production must go beyond the conventional plant-biased production model. Developing a more balanced economic approach for the production of fish requires an analysis of integration strategies for RAS waste utilization in different production settings in the Northeast (intensive RAS, urban aquaculture, etc.). This research will enable new and existing Northeast aquaculture producers to increase locally-grown fish by diversifying production and monetizing fish waste nutrients.
Principle Investigator
Todd Guerdat, Ph.D.
Formerly affiliated with Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems, UNH
Contact Dr. Guerdat
todd.guerdat@gmail.com
Co-Investigators
Shadi ATTALAH, PH.D.
Formerly UNH, now Associate Professor in Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Contact Dr. Attalah
satallah@illinois.edu
Ryan Dickson
UNH Cooperative Extension and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems, UNH
Contact Ryan Dickson
ryan.dickson@unh.edu
Peter Konjoian
Konjoian's Floriculture Education Service
Contact Peter Konjoian
peterkfes@comcast.net
Project Funding Cycle
2018-2019 NH Sea Grant Biennial Research Funding
Project News
Watch the video: UNH Recirculating Aquaponics
RESEARCH NEWS
- Piscataqua Science Cafe: Farming for the Future - Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture, [event] November 20, 2018
- "The Future of Food? Aquaculture & Aquaponics," NHPR, November 20, 2018
- "UNH Opens Aquaponic Greenhouse Facility to Support Local, Regional Food Production," UNH Today, October, 16, 2018
- "UNH Finishes Aquaponic Research Facility For Farming Fish and Produce Under One Roof," NHPR, Octoober 16, 2018