On:
In: Emma Wiermaa, NADF, recirculating aquaculture systems

By Eva Ryan, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The next specialist I interviewed in celebration of Wisconsin Sea Grant’s 50th anniversary was Emma Wiermaa, aquaculture and education outreach specialist. Together, we discussed details of Wiermaa’s specialty that have changed and details she hopes to see change in the future.

Wiermaa is stationed at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF). Her position is in collaboration between Wisconsin Sea Grant and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. NADF is a research and demonstration facility for freshwater finfish that may be used for a variety of food fish, baitfish or conservation species projects. The facility also partners with various organizations, private, public and tribal, looking to engage in sustainable aquaculture.

Emma Wiermaa at the Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

“My job is to take the research that we’re doing and convert it into a way that’s understandable and usable for various groups,” said Wiermaa. One of Wiermaa’s key audiences are K-12 students. Her duty involves effectively engaging and educating these children on what aquaculture is and why it is important, not only for educational purposes but also as a career pathway.

Though Wiermaa has only been working for the aquaculture industry for eight years, she said, “In the past 50 years from what I’ve seen, there seems to be a lot more interest in the growth of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).” Essentially, RAS have the potential to create the best possible circumstances to optimize fish growth throughout the year. This includes control of various environmental factors such as temperature, flow rates, lighting, water quality and biosecurity. She said that temperature control is especially important in our Midwest climate for species that require warmer temperatures for optimum growth, such as the walleye.

“We’re part of these national groups that want to see this (RAS) succeed, and they’re (the NADF) doing it in a sustainable way. They’re thinking about water reuse, effluent (water leaving the site) and optimum control of the fish-rearing environment.”

Not wasting any time in looking forward to the next 50 years of aquaculture, Wiermaa expressed her hope to continue supporting local and sustainable aquaculture, not only aquaculture research but also the farmers working hard to support local communities while providing fresh and local fish. “It is important for consumers to know that purchasing fish and seafood raised in the U.S. ensures a safe, healthy and tastefully fresh option that supports local jobs and communities,” she said.

To help achieve this, Wiermaa notes that misconceptions about the aquaculture industry need to be addressed to erase any stigma. “We need the trust, we need the support, and we need the research,” Wiermaa said.

Wiermaa mentioned one specific detail: farmers know better than anyone that fish are sensitive animals that require a healthy environment with good water quality in order to survive on a daily basis. Farmers must ensure clean living conditions for these fish because otherwise, the fish would not survive. She stressed that maintaining honesty in research and information is essential in eliminating misconceptions.

To cap off the interview, Wiermaa expressed her appreciation for Wisconsin Sea Grant in supporting aquaculture research and sustainable practices. She said, “I think that’s why everyone who works at the facility is so passionate about it because we’re doing cutting-edge research that really helps our partners. It’s all about partnerships and helping to advance sustainable aquaculture.”

 

The post Support your local fish farms, support sustainability first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/support-your-local-fish-farms-support-sustainability/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=support-your-local-fish-farms-support-sustainability

Marie Zhuikov

On:
In: aquaculture, Emma Wiermaa, fish farming, GLAC, Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, Titus Seilheimer

All welcome at this free, virtual event

The first Sea Grant Great Lakes Aquaculture Day will be held Saturday, October 10. The online event will showcase the region’s potential for fish and seafood production and include a culinary competition. 

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Activities begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. central time with the cooking challenge, in which culinary students will test their creativity and flair.

The day will feature a variety of panel discussions and presentations on aquaculture. Those presentations will be targeted at a variety of audiences, from beginning and current farmers to consumers interested in learning more about preparing and cooking seafood.

The event is hosted by the Sea Grant Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, a project of Sea Grant programs across the region—including Wisconsin Sea Grant—that are working to share resources and promote best practices in the aquaculture industry. 

Emma Wiermaa of Wisconsin Sea Grant and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF) will be one of the presenters at Great Lakes Aquaculture Day. She is pictured with NADF Assistant Director and Research Program Manager Greg Fischer. (Photo: Narayan Mahon)

Wisconsin Sea Grant outreach specialists Emma Wiermaa—who holds a joint position with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility in Bayfield, where she is based—and Titus Seilheimer, a fisheries specialist, will participate in the event.

The day will conclude with a cooking demonstration featuring Chef Jeff Igel of the Wisconsin Technical College System, followed by a competition between three culinary students from the Great Lakes region. Each student will be required to use a key ingredient and local aquaculture products in his or her dish. 

The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative is currently accepting applications from post-secondary students for the competition. The three students selected will each receive a $250 stipend to cover ingredients costs and time. 

All Great Lakes Aquaculture Day attendees will be able to interact with other participants throughout the event and during breakout lunch gatherings. 

As the fastest-growing sector of agriculture worldwide, aquaculture now accounts for more than 50% of world seafood production, surpassing that from wild-caught fisheries. However, aquaculture growth in the U.S. has been stagnant, and seafood supply from U.S.-based, wild-caught fisheries is not enough to meet nationwide demand. One result of that is a $14 billion seafood trade deficit. 

The U.S. aquaculture industry has potential for growth, particularly in the Great Lakes region, where abundant inland freshwater resources have enabled a handful of state-based aquaculture operations to employ a local workforce and produce sustainable, healthy and tasty fish. 

For more information about the Sea Grant Great Lakes Aquaculture Day 2020 event and registration, visit the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative website or contact Michigan Sea Grant Extension Educator Elliot Nelson. For information about the Sea Grant Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, contact Minnesota Sea Grant Extension Educator Amy Schrank.

Original Article

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/great-lakes-aquaculture-day-announced/

Jennifer Smith

On:
In: aquaculture, Atlantic salmon, Bret Shaw, consumer opinion, Emma Wiermaa, Greg Fischer, Kristin Runge, NADF, RAS-N, saprolegnia, saprolegniasis, social science, UWSP NADF

Two Sea Grant-funded aquaculture studies have borne fruit with new publications. One aids the growing industry surrounding Atlantic salmon raised in land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). The other looks at Wisconsin residents’ views of aquaculture (often called fish farming) and related public policy.

Both tie in with the broader goals of Wisconsin Sea Grant and the National Sea Grant Office in terms of supporting a sustainable, domestic supply of fish and seafood and closing the trade gap in this sector of the economy.

In this 2018 photo, Greg Fischer and Emma Wiermaa handle a fish at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, located in Bayfield. (Photo: Narayan Mahon)

The Atlantic salmon paper appears in the June/July issue of Aquaculture Magazine (Vol. 46, No. 3). Its authors are Greg Fischer, Emma Wiermaa, Chris Good, John Davidson and Steve Summerfelt. Fischer and Wiermaa are based at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF). Located in Bayfield, NADF is a frequent partner with Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wiermaa’s position as an aquaculture outreach specialist and research associate is co-supported by Sea Grant.

The Aquaculture Magazine article looks at some of the issues affecting the growing of the land-based salmon industry in the U.S., such as saprolegniasis (commonly called “fungus”), which can affect both farm-raised and wild fish. (For more information, see our previous story here.)

The piece also looks at methods for preventing “off flavor” in the fish. Often described as a musty or earthy taste, it can be off-putting for consumers.

Fischer, Wiermaa and their collaborators are also participants in a broader initiative funded by the National Sea Grant Office called RAS-N, for Recirculating Aquaculture Salmon Network. A large-scale effort between three Sea Grant programs—Wisconsin, Maryland and Maine—and numerous private and nonprofit research entities, RAS-N aims to support the growth of sustainable, land-based salmon production in the United States. That collaboration kicked off with a December 2019 meeting in northern Wisconsin.

The second paper hot off the digital press, so to speak, springs from social science research conducted by Bret Shaw, Kristin Runge, Laura Witzling, Shiyu Yang, Chris Hartleb and Deidre Peroff. On June 16, it was published online in the journal Environmental Communication.

The paper focuses on insights gleaned from a survey of 3,000 randomly selected Wisconsin households. While consumer views on aquaculture have been widely studied in Europe, the topic has received less attention in the U.S. The team looked at emotions and opinions about Wisconsin aquaculture—which, they found, were generally favorable among those surveyed.

The team also looked at predictors of support for environmental policy in nuanced situations: individuals may want policy to help an industry grow, to regulate it, or both at the same time.

The paper, “Predictors of Environmental Policy Support: The Case of Inland Aquaculture in Wisconsin,” may be found online.

Original Article

Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/findings-from-aquaculture-projects-published/

Jennifer Smith

On:
In: aquaculture, Chris Hartleb, Emma Wiermaa, fish farming, Greg Fischer, NADF, Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, RAS, saugeye, UW-Stevens Point, UWSP, walleye

Research at UW-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility focuses on out-of-season spawning

Nothing says “Wisconsin” quite like a Friday night fish fry with all the trimmings: rye bread, cole slaw, French fries, and perhaps a cold beer or brandy Old Fashioned. For many people, the star at the center of the plate is crisply battered walleye.

Yet most of the walleye served in restaurants or purchased in grocery stores actually comes from Canada, including a sizable amount from the Canadian waters of Lake Erie, where it is netted by commercial fishermen.

These walleye, raised in a recirculating aquaculture system at the UW-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, are about a year old. (Photo: UWSP NADF)

One way to increase the availability of this popular fish year-round and have it come from U.S. sources is through aquaculture, or fish farming. Research conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF) and funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant is helping fish farmers get closer to being able to raise walleye year-round in indoor recirculating aquaculture systems.

Said Chris Hartleb, NADF Director and Professor of Fisheries Biology at UW-Stevens Point, “For the past eight years, Wisconsin Sea Grant has provided funding to tackle some of the challenges” related to domesticating walleye (Sander vitreus) and making it suitable for farming. Previous research has examined whether walleye can be raised in tanks and, if so, what the optimal density in the tank is for the fish to thrive, as well as starter feeds for walleye and saugeye, a naturally occurring hybrid of walleye and sauger.  

Hartleb and Greg Fischer, NADF Assistant Director/Research Program Manager, are the lead investigators on a new project funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant in its 2020-22 project cycle.

The project will focus on making walleye eggs, fry and juveniles available year-round through out-of-season spawning triggered by photothermal manipulation. This means carefully controlling the amount of light and the temperature to which the fish are exposed. That way, multiple crops of fish could be produced throughout the year, as opposed to the single time per year that happens in the wild.

Other key players in conducting the research are NADF Foreman Kendall Holmes, an advanced fish technician, and fellow technician Jared Neibauer. Aquaculture Outreach Specialist Emma Wiermaa will communicate research results to the fish farmers who can use them.

For the study, some fish will be exposed to an early “spring” in early February 2021, through warming water and more light. “And then hopefully those fish will be triggered to spawn, and we’ll get eggs by the end of February. And so, if it works, we’ll get juvenile fish probably around April or early May,” said Hartleb.

A control group of fish will spawn on the normal cycle that wild fish would—sometime in April—and a third group of fish will have an extended “winter” (again, due to light and temperature) and spawn late.

While this plan may sound straightforward, it is not guaranteed to work in practice. “It sounds simple enough, since those are the two main triggers for fish to spawn: light and temperature,” said Hartleb. “But some studies have shown”—such as work by Sea Grant’s other aquaculture specialist, Fred Binkowski, involving yellow perch at UW-Milwaukee—“that if you rush them or if you delay them, sometimes the embryos, the offspring, turn out not be viable.”

And not only may embryos die, so may juveniles or early adults, so that’s why it is crucial to grow the fish in the study out to a marketable size of 1 to 1.5 pounds.

Because the NADF team will need to keep producing batches of walleye, they’re working with a range of public and private partners to help them grow the fish out to full size. Those partners include the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation in northern Illinois and Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, which is starting an aquaculture program. Northside Enterprises, a fish farm in Black Creek, Wisconsin, will also participate, and several other farms throughout the state have also expressed interest in raising the young walleye to market size.

Earlier walleye outreach at NADF has addressed topics like showing farmers how to feed-train walleye to consume a commercial diet from hatch. (Photo: UWSP NADF)

Said Fischer, who has worked with walleye in a variety of systems for about three decades, “The capability to spawn walleye out of season in a controlled aquaculture setting is paramount to bringing commercial walleye production to fruition in the U.S. We have got to have eggs year-round for this to be commercially acceptable. This newest project will allow us to move this species into the commercial aquaculture production sector in the Midwest.”

As with other NADF projects, outreach is a key component, with Wiermaa—whose position is jointly supported by Wisconsin Sea Grant—leading efforts to share NADF research with fish farmers throughout the state.

Said Wiermaa, “Making our projects results accessible and presenting them in ways that are useful to farmers is just as important as the research results themselves.”  This can take a number of forms, including fact sheets, manuals and videos.

Aquaculture Outreach Specialist Emma Wiermaa holds a walleye at the facility in Bayfield, Wis. (Photo: UWSP NADF)

Wiermaa has noted high interest among Midwest fish farmers looking to raise walleye commercially as a food fish. “To respond to these requests for assistance, the Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility recently completed a technical video series on raising walleye intensively in water reuse systems. The series compiles nearly a decade of research, and it is accessible online. Results from this newest project will be added to this video series and other outreach tools.”

Ultimately, the NADF team hopes that the research will result in more Wisconsin- and U.S.-raised fish on diners’ plates, and help expand Wisconsin’s aquaculture industry, which is currently a $21 million business that represents about 500 jobs.

“Every time we’ve concluded one of our projects, there’s just tremendous interest [from fish farmers] throughout the Upper Midwest. I think people realize that walleye are a great-tasting fish. And it’s a high-value fish, so it gets a good price on the market,” said Hartleb.

Original Article

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/new-walleye-study-at-uwsp-nadf/

Jennifer Smith

On:
In: aquaculture, aquaponics, Atlantic salmon, Emma Wiermaa, Greg Fischer, RAS, RAS-N, recirculating aquaculture, Salmo salar, workforce development

Sea Grant effort will support growth of land-based salmon industry in U.S.

 

Meeting attendees from across the country got a true taste of a northern Wisconsin winter at the inaugural meeting for a Sea Grant-funded effort to support the sustainable development of the land-based Atlantic salmon industry in the U.S.

As the gathering kicked off in Washburn in December, the mercury read a nippy 6 degrees Fahrenheit, with subzero wind chills. Yet energy levels inside the Harbor View Event Center were high as approximately 50 attendees began laying the groundwork for a robust collaboration that was dubbed RAS-N, for “Recirculating Aquaculture Salmon Network.”

The effort is being funded as part of a larger package of $16 million in federal aquaculture grants announced in September 2019 by the National Sea Grant Office.

Participants at the meeting included Sea Grant staff from Maryland, Maine and Wisconsin, as well as the National Sea Grant Office; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff; and representatives from private industry, including feed and salmon producers.

Maryland Sea Grant is leading the three-year project to identify and address challenges faced by the land-based Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) industry. The Wisconsin and Maine Sea Grant programs are partners in the multistate consortium. The project builds upon earlier Sea Grant investment in this area, including research based in Wisconsin.

The December event spanned two full days of presentations and discussion. It also featured a tour of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF) in nearby Bayfield. Attendees observed various NADF research projects with Atlantic salmon and other fish species.

Emma Wiermaa, an aquaculture outreach specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant and NADF, and Greg Fischer, assistant director and research program manager at NADF, played major roles in organizing this productive event.

Said Fischer, “I was very impressed by the commitment of the group, who showed up in the middle of a good old-fashioned Wisconsin snowstorm. Even with record-setting low temperatures, many expressed how glad they were that they came, some from as far as Europe.”

Growing the economy—and the workforce

As one of the conference speakers noted — Brian Peterson of the USDA’s National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center in Maine — seafood represents the United States’ largest trade deficit of any agricultural product. And, as David O’Brien, acting director of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, told the group, “Wild fisheries alone cannot meet the increasing demand for seafood.”

This sets the stage for sustainable U.S. aquaculture to help meet the world’s demand for seafood while growing a sector of the U.S. economy.

Emma Wiermaa, aquaculture outreach specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility. (Photo: Jim Gill)

As Wiermaa observed, “Land-based, water reuse systems for growing Atlantic salmon allow the fish to be raised close to market, with limited impacts on the surrounding environment. The result is fresh, local filets for consumers.”

Wisconsin-based Superior Fresh is already having success in this arena as the country’s first land-based Atlantic salmon producer and world’s largest aquaponic farm. Said Chief Science Officer Steve Summerfelt, 99.9% of the facility’s water flow is recycled, and there is zero discharge to surface water. Superior Fresh currently employs more than 70 staff and is expanding.

Representatives from Riverence, Whole Oceans and American Salmon — other private entities currently in this space or preparing to launch facilities — also presented.

Several speakers addressed the educational and workforce development aspects of the industry.

Scarlett Tudor of the University of Maine’s Aquaculture Research Institute described her campus’ approach to fostering the future aquaculture workforce. By placing paid interns in companies, the university helps students build their resumes while conducting research for industry that may not otherwise be possible. The university is also interested in reaching noncredit students. As Tudor noted, hands-on experience is key in the aquaculture world, and not everyone needs a degree for their particular career path.

Wiermaa noted that NADF hosts one or two student technicians at a time, and more than 90% of those techs find aquaculture positions after their stint in Bayfield is over. UW-Stevens Point is a leader in aquaculture education. It is the first accredited university in Wisconsin to offer an aquaculture minor (which is still uncommon in U.S. colleges) and the first in the country to offer full-semester aquaponics courses, a master class and professional certificate program.

Aquaculture manager Kyle Woolever handles young Atlantic salmon at Wisconsin-based Superior Fresh, an aquaponic farm raising leafy greens along with fish. (Photo: Sara Stathas)

Fish health, biosecurity, consumer perceptions and other topics were also addressed during the wide-ranging meeting. The aim of this gathering was to bring together a small, focused group of stakeholders to get the project off the ground.        

Said Summerfelt, “I’m excited that Sea Grant has supported RAS-N, which has brought together land-based salmon stakeholders–producers, suppliers, trainers of the workforce, and academics—for the first time. With this kickoff meeting in Washburn, we have begun preparing a roadmap to address our needs and gaps in knowledge to reduce risk and increase production efficiencies, as well as consumer awareness. RAS-N is providing a terrific venue for collaboration.”

Future steps in 2020 will be a RAS-N session at the Aquaculture America conference in Honolulu in February, and a fall gathering at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore. Organizers expect to invite a larger group of stakeholders to the Maryland meeting as the collaboration continues to take shape.

Original Article

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/salmon-aquaculture-project-kickoff/

Jennifer Smith