Purdue News
Purdue News
|
|
February 25, 2000 Meeting to offer information on starting a fish farmWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Aquaculture, or fish farming, may be one of the hottest Indiana business opportunities for new entrepreneurs as well as for established farmers, and a March 25 meeting will provide information about starting an aquaculture business. The spring meeting of the Indiana Aquaculture Association will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at the Signature Inn in Indianapolis. The meeting is free to IAA members, but nonmembers must pay a fee of $40, which includes a one-year IAA membership. The IAA was formed in 1989 as a way for persons interested in aquaculture to stay updated on new research and to share techniques and strategies with fellow fish farmers. The Midwest is one of the largest fish markets in the United States, but most fish are shipped into the region. Livestock and grain farmers have shown an interest in aquaculture as a way to combat foundering agriculture prices. The meeting will provide those interested in getting started in aquaculture a chance to learn more about procedures and strategies and meet individuals already active in the industry. Purdue University's LaDon Swann, an aquaculture Extension specialist for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, will give an overview of indoor recirculating aquaculture systems. Swann will describe some of the "nuts and bolts" involved in converting hog houses to recirculating aquaculture systems. "Fish farming can be profitable and environmentally sustainable for agriculture in both outdoor levee ponds and recirculating aquaculture systems," he said. Paul Brown, professor of aquaculture at Purdue, will discuss recent advances in fish nutrition. Other sessions will focus on building leadership skills and some of the opportunities and pitfalls when formulating plans for establishing a fish farm. To register for the meeting, contact Michael Miller, secretary/treasurer of IAA, at (317) 594-8933. Pre-registration is not necessary; participants may register the morning of the meeting from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. For more information about aquaculture, contact Swann, (765) 494-9347, lswann@purdue.edu, or visit the AquaNIC Web site. The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program is one of 29 National Sea Grant College Programs that combine university, government, business and industry expertise to address coastal and Great Lakes needs. The program is funded by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Purdue and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. CONTACT: Debra Levey Larson, media/communications specialist, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program, (217) 333-8055; dlarson@uiuc.edu Compiled by Beth Forbes, (765) 494-2722, bforbes@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
|
