On:
In: Alex Gregory, aquaculture, Cory Vines, Dong-Fang Deng, Emma Hauser, Erin Ross, Jack Patterson, Kayden Knudsen, Kyle Freimuth, Louis Benard, Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, Raatbek Baizakov, Rachel Virnig, Ryan Figueroa, Sharon Moen, Tyler Gregorski, Wyatt Slack, yellow perch, zebrafish

Some people revel in the dog days of summer, but for a dozen aquaculture interns, the season was all about fish.

In partnership with Wisconsin Sea Grant and funded through a grant from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, the interns were stationed at aquaculture facilities across the state, working alongside mentors to get hands-on experience raising and caring for fish. According to Wisconsin Sea Grant food-fish coordinator Sharon Moen, who led the project alongside aquaculture specialists Emma Hauser and Dong-Fang Deng, the purpose of the internships was to build awareness of fish farming and offer training opportunities for young people.

“We couldn’t be happier with the way this first-time program unfolded,” said Moen. “The students and mentors gained so much during a short 10 weeks.”

Raising fish was not the only new skill the interns acquired. They learned how to manage projects, work on a team, and — importantly — embrace the many utilitarian wonders of PVC pipes and power tools.

Here’s a snapshot of some of their projects.

Yellow perch, aquaponics, and renewable energy at Northey Farms

Aquaculture intern walks with a net of yellow perch

Rachel Virnig transports yellow perch at Northey Farms. Credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

University of Wisconsin–Madison undergraduates Jack Patterson, Erin Ross, and Rachel Virnig interned at Northey Farms in Deerfield, Wisconsin, a fish farm that uses both outdoor ponds and a recirculating aquaculture system to raise yellow perch. Under the supervision of Kyle Freimuth, a University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences graduate student, the team of interns learned how to monitor water quality, clean tanks, and care for more than 27,000 yellow perch.

Freimuth got a crash course in farm management. He developed a system for interns to track daily water quality, allocate tasks, and communicate with the farm owner. “I feel good about the work,” said Freimuth. “I was able to see all the little things that we were able to do to better care for the fish.”

For Patterson, Ross, and Virnig, the biggest project of the summer was building an aquaponic system in an outdoor hoop house. When it wasn’t being burglarized by racoons, the plant-and-fish production system supported bluegill and yellow perch alongside tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, basil, and tomatillos. The interns also constructed — from scratch and with no directions! — a mini wind turbine to power the whole system. The project was a point of pride for the team, who enjoyed creating a functioning, self-sufficient food system and learning new, practical life skills.

“I didn’t know how to use power tools before this internship, and that became a daily skill,” said Ross. “That was huge for me as a young adult.”

Research, education, and outreach at Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility

aquaculture intern, Wyatt Slack, stands in a black t-shirt in front of a green field

Wyatt Slack. Credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like most of the interns, Wyatt Slack was largely unfamiliar with aquaculture prior to this summer. Fast forward two months, and he was teaching others about what he learned.

Slack, an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, worked at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility in Red Cliff, Wisconsin. The facility supports aquaculture research and showcases the latest techniques and technologies while also educating others about the industry. As an intern, Slack got to do a little bit of everything.

“Some days we spawned salmon. Others, we took blood samples from lake trout or set up another experiment,” said Slack. “No day looks exactly the same.”

One task remained constant, however, and that was cleaning. Slack used a windshield wiper attached to a PVC pipe to clean the circular walls of the fish tanks. It was a funny but utterly functional tool that was, in a lot of ways, emblematic of the ingenuity of fish farmers.

“PVC pipes are the lifeblood of these systems,” he laughed.

Slack also practiced communicating the science of aquaculture to different audiences, from kids to adults. He gave tours to visiting groups, showed kindergartners big fish, and made art at Kid’s Fishing Day. His last assignment was serving walleye he helped raise to about 150 people at an event in Houghton, Michigan. During the event he talked to participants and a reporter about aquaculture in the Upper Midwest.

“Outreach was definitely one of the most fulfilling parts of this internship,” he said.

Raising zebrafish at the Morgridge Institute for Research

aquaculture intern Raatbek Baizakov holds a plastic tanks used for breeding zebrafish

Raatbek Baizakov explains zebra fish breeding tanks at the Morgridge Institute. Credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While aquaculture often produces fish for food, fish farms also raise fish for bait, stocking and, as University of Wisconsin–Madison student Raatbek Baizakov learned, research.

Baizakov spent his summer interning at the Morgridge Institute for Research, a biomedical research facility in Madison, Wisconsin. Originally from Kyrgyzstan, Baizakov grew up helping his dad raise trout.

“I had experience with game fish. I didn’t really have experience with research fishes,” he said. “It’s not really similar at all.”

Instead of trout, Baizakov worked with zebrafish, a small striped fish with the unique ability to regrow damaged body parts like fins, heart tissue, and spinal cords. Researchers at Morgridge study the fish for this reason, hoping to find ways to heal similar injuries in people.

Working with a small team, Baizakov provided daily care for 2,250 tanks of zebrafish, which involved feeding and flushing tanks. He also enjoyed learning about the system that pumps and recirculates water through the tanks, which he described as “genius.”

“As a mechanical engineer, I appreciated this so much,” he said.

Lab research at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences

a hand holds a small net filled with tiny sturgeon

Baby sturgeon at the UW–Milwaukee School for Freshwater Sciences. Credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another set of interns kept busy learning about fish care and nutrition in the lab of Wisconsin Sea Grant aquaculture outreach and extension specialist Dong-Fang Deng.

Though not all were funded by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, Louis Benard, Kayden Knudsen, Alex Gregory, Cory Vines, and Tyler Gregorski worked side-by-side cleaning tanks, sorting fish, and pursuing individual projects, which ranged from the effects of microplastics on fish growth to incorporating novel ingredients like black soldier fly oil and soy cake into fish food.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said high school senior Knudsen, who investigated the impacts of microplastics on yellow perch. “Working at UWM has been a really good experience for developing ideas about my future.”

Mapping Wisconsin fish farms

Aquaculture intern Ryan Figueroa holds up a fish at the Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility

Ryan Figueroa visited the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility as part of his internship. Submitted photo.

Unlike the other interns, Ryan Figueroa didn’t work at a fish farm, but he did get a bird’s-eye view of the aquaculture industry across the state. Figueroa, an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin–Superior with an interest in GIS, worked with Moen to revamp the Eat Wisconsin Fish food fish maps to show the location and features of aquaculture and commercial fishing operations in Wisconsin. The goal was to make aquaculture visible and accessible to those wanting to buy locally raised fish.

“Maps help connect people to local food systems,” said Figueroa. That certainly was the case for him. He visited several fish operations to collect geospatial data and enjoyed eating some of their wares. He also appreciated having Moen as his mentor for the summer.

“She’s the best,” said Figueroa. “I really want to emulate what she does. I loved seeing how she works and how she communicates with people. She’s been a huge help for me.”

To learn more about the interns’ experiences, check out this video made by aquaculture outreach specialist Emma Hauser.

***

The University of Wisconsin Aquatic Sciences Center administers Wisconsin Sea Grant, the Wisconsin Water Resources Institute, and Water@UW. The center supports multidisciplinary research, education, and outreach for the protection and sustainable use of Wisconsin’s water resources. Wisconsin Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of marine resources through research, education, outreach, and technology transfer.

The post Summer students learn the ropes of fish farming first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/summer-students-learn-the-ropes-of-fish-farming/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: 100% Great Lakes Fish, Eat Wisconsin Fish, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers, John Schmidt, Sharon Moen

Fish are often enjoyed as fillets, but could they also become a beverage, a belt, or a spot of sparkly makeup?

Graphic for 100% Wisconsin Fish contest that displays a whitefish and encourages folks to "Think beyond the fillet"

Eat Wisconsin Fish and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers (GSGP) are fishing for your ideas on how to creatively use all parts of commercially caught Great Lakes fish. Now through October 24, 2025, you can submit your ideas to the 100% Wisconsin Fish contest for a chance to win a Great Lakes prize pack.

“We’re looking for bold, innovative ideas that go beyond the traditional uses of fish,” said Sharon Moen, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s food-fish outreach coordinator who is helping run the contest. “Typically, only 40% of the fish is used, and that’s the fillet. Finding ways to use the remaining 60% will help us reduce waste and create new economic opportunities in Wisconsin.” 

The contest is part of GSGP’s 100% Great Lakes Fish initiative, which seeks to find commercial uses for all parts of harvested fish across the entire Great Lakes region. The initiative is modeled after Iceland’s successful effort to find more uses for harvested cod. According to GSGP, Iceland has now developed commercial uses for 90% of the cod, and its value has risen from $12 to $4,000.

“We see huge potential for Wisconsin and the region to unlock new industries, create jobs, and ensure that the full value of these fish supports our region’s communities,” said John Schmidt, GSGP program manager. “We applaud Wisconsin Sea Grant’s creative approach to gathering new ideas with the Eat Wisconsin Fish contest. We are eager to see what comes of this!”

The contest is open to all Wisconsin residents, but participants under the age of 18 will require parental/guardian consent. Contestants will need to write a short description of their product and explain its benefit to the Great Lakes and Wisconsin’s coastal communities. A team of judges will then convene in late October to evaluate ideas on usefulness, feasibility, creativity, and regional importance.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing how people think beyond the fillet,” said Moen.

Submit your ideas to the contest.   

***

The University of Wisconsin Aquatic Sciences Center administers Wisconsin Sea Grant, the Wisconsin Water Resources Institute, and Water@UW. The center supports multidisciplinary research, education, and outreach for the protection and sustainable use of Wisconsin’s water resources. Wisconsin Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of marine resources through research, education, outreach, and technology transfer.

The post Submit your ideas to the 100% Wisconsin Fish contest first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/submit-your-ideas-to-the-100-wisconsin-fish-contest/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: aquaculture, Dan Widiker, Dong-Fang Deng, Education, Emma Hauser, Freshwater Collaborative, Sharon Moen, Superior Middle School, workforce development
8th grade science teacher Dan Widiker stands next to a PVC-pipe rack for growing plants in an aquaponic system

Superior Middle School teacher Dan Widiker stands next to the PVC grow tubes that contain the plants in the aquaponic system. Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant

Ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up, and chances are they’ll rattle off a list of the usual suspects: doctor, firefighter, artist, astronaut. Sharon Moen, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s food-fish outreach coordinator, hopes to add “fish farmer” to that list.

Moen and Wisconsin Sea Grant aquaculture outreach specialists Emma Hauser and Dong-Fang Deng are partnering on a project to build awareness of fish farming and boost training opportunities for young people. The project, funded by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, is a step towards developing an aquaculture workforce in the state.

“When I speak with our farmers producing rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon, tilapia and other fish for food, one of the biggest hurdles they report is that there are not enough workers. They need help. Meanwhile, many students don’t know working on a fish farm is a real job they can have,” Moen said.

One way to build awareness is to get more fish in front of more kids. As part of the project, the Wisconsin Sea Grant team invited educators to apply for $500 grants to set up, reboot, or improve systems that allow students to grow fish as part of their school day.

Dan Widiker, an 8th grade science teacher at Superior Middle School in Superior, Wisconsin, received one the six grants distributed so far. This spring he set up a fish tank and mounted a PVC-pipe system to circulate water and grow buttercrunch lettuce. The sprouting seeds provide not only proof of concept but also serve as effective learning tools.

“With eighth graders, if they can’t see it and touch it, the abstract concepts don’t always land,” said Widiker. “[Now] they have something a little bit more concrete. And if they can interact with it and see value with it, then it’s a lot more meaningful.”

Widiker and his fellow science teachers recently revamped their curriculum to be more place-based — that is, to focus on the local environment rather than far-flung locales across the globe. He hopes the fish-and-plant aquaponic system will encourage students to think about the ways humans intersect with the environment, particularly when it comes to food, which is often shipped across the country and world.

Two middle school students, Ava and Liam, pose for a photo on either side of the guppy tank in Mr. Widiker's 8th grade science class.

Middle school students Ava and Liam with the guppy tank in Dan Widiker’s classroom. Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant

That’s especially true when it comes to seafood. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that 70% to 85% of seafood consumed in the United States is imported from abroad, and more than half of those imports are produced via aquaculture. What if, instead of transporting food thousands of miles across the globe, it could be raised locally?

For that vision to become a reality, the industry needs to cultivate a workforce. To that end, in addition to putting fish in schools, the project team is making it possible for undergraduate students to work in aquaculture facilities near Milwaukee, Madison, and Bayfield this summer. Already two students are working with Deng in her lab at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, and three are learning the nuances of raising yellow perch alongside a commercial fish farmer.

Back in Widiker’s 8th grade classroom, students Ava and Liam await the introduction of fish into the tank. Both are fans of their teacher’s dynamic approach to science.

“I personally think it’s going to be great because it’s hands-on and more like you can see it. You can see the effects,” Ava said. “It’s cooler to see, and it makes me pay attention more.”

Added Liam, “There’s always something we don’t know that we learn each day.”

Educators interested in setting up an aquaponic system in their classroom can email Sharon Moen at smoen@aqua.wisc.edu.

The post Getting kids hooked on fish farming first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/getting-kids-hooked-on-fish-farming/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: Dong-Fang Deng, Emma Hauser, Peter Fritsch, Sharon Moen, Titus Seilheimer, Wisconsin Aquaculture Association, Wisconsin Aquaculture Conference
A man in a blue t-shirt holds up two walleye in a net

Josh Fox transports walleye donated by the UW-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility to Woods and Waters, a private fish farm in Juneau, Wisconsin. Photo: Emma Hauser

The Wisconsin Aquaculture Association will host the annual Wisconsin Aquaculture Conference Feb. 21-22 at the Hotel Marshfield, in Marshfield, Wisconsin. The conference is the largest event of its kind in the upper Midwest, bringing together fish farmers, researchers, educators and vendors to learn, share and network with aquaculture professionals across the state and region.

Aquaculture, or the raising of aquatic organisms, is an important part of the global agricultural landscape. Wisconsin has around 2,000 registered fish farms of various sizes. Of these, around 50 farms are commercial-scale operations that produce local seafood, baitfish and fish for stocking as well as support local jobs and the economy. Although small, the industry is diverse, raising different types of fish using a variety of aquaculture systems.

Emma Hauser, aquaculture outreach specialist with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility and Wisconsin Sea Grant, assists in organizing the event each year. “This annual conference continues to be a critical event for anyone currently involved or interested in becoming involved in aquaculture. We are fortunate to have a great lineup of presenters sharing their expertise from across the Midwest,” said Hauser. “The most important part of this conference is networking and connecting with others in the industry to support the growth and sustainability of aquaculture into the future.”

Peter Fritsch, owner of Rushing Waters Fisheries, agrees. “These events are important to producers. You can learn just as much in conversations in the hallways as the lectures while building relationships with other producers that can last an entire career. These are now like reunions to me,” he said. 

The two-day conference will feature talks and breakout sessions on fish health, aquaculture feed, regulation, business resources, fish processing and aquaculture systems. On the second day, participants will have the option to tour Gollon Brothers Wholesale Live Bait, a local fish farm operated by Wisconsin Aquaculture Association President Ben Gollon.

People it at several round tables in a conference room and listen to a speaker at a podium.

Randy Romanski, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, welcomes attendees to the 2024 joint Wisconsin and Minnesota Aquaculture Conference. Photo: Emma Hauser

Several Wisconsin Sea Grant staff will be presenting at the conference. Aquaculture outreach and extension specialist Dong-Fang Deng will discuss current research on aquaculture feed, and Sharon Moen, food-fish outreach coordinator, will offer ways for fish farmers to connect with local legislators. Last year, Moen successfully organized a fish-farm tour for state lawmakers to learn more about the industry.

Not only will fish be on the agenda, but also on plates. The conference will feature a “Taste of Wisconsin” reception, where participants can try local fish products.

Conference registration is $225 for general admission (which includes membership to the WAA), $150 for current members and $100 for students. Children 12 and under are free.

The conference is supported by various organizations including the Wisconsin Sea Grant, the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, Minnesota Sea Grant, the UWSP Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, as well as other sponsors and vendors.

 

 

 

 

The post Wisconsin Aquaculture Conference returns Feb. 21-22 first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/wisconsin-aquaculture-conference-returns-feb-21-22/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: 100% Great Lakes Fish, aquaculture, Christy Remucal, commercial fisheries, Great Lakes, Great Lakes commercial fishing, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers, Sharon Moen

 

GSGP Executive Director David Naftzger hands a participant an Icelandic energy drink made with fish collagen. Photo: Front Room Studios

GSGP Executive Director David Naftzger hands a participant an Icelandic energy drink made with fish collagen. Photo: Front Room Studios

On Oct.1, the Head to Tail Fish Showcase celebrated Great Lakes fish products — with not a fillet in sight.

The event aimed at elevating awareness of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers (GSGP) 100% Great Lakes Fish initiative, a project that seeks to find commercial uses for all parts of harvested Great Lakes fish. Typically, the fillet, which represents only 40% of the fish, is consumed while the remaining 60% is discarded or used in animal feed and fertilizers.

That fish waste, however, can be turned into pharmaceuticals and other high-value products like fish leather and collagen supplements.

“Our goal is to drive more value through the fishery, create more jobs, create rural economy development and really improve the sustainability of our fishery,” said David Naftzger, executive director of GSGP.

Businesses who join the initiative pledge to use 100% of harvested fish by the end of 2025. So far, 30 Great Lakes commercial fishing and aquaculture operations have signed on, 11 of which are from Wisconsin.

Several long pieces of fish leather

Fish leather was a featured product at the event. Photo: Front Room Studios

“Wisconsin companies have been a real leader and helped to send a message to the rest of the region and to the rest of the fish value chain that there’s raw material available. We want to see it used productively and we want to create some partnerships that can make that happen,” said Naftzger.

The private event was held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences for an audience of media and business, academic and government partners. Representatives from UW-Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Department of Natural Resources and Wisconsin Coastal Management Program offered remarks in support of the program.

Wisconsin Sea Grant helped organize the event. Interim director Christy Remucal said that the initiative aligns well with the program’s focus on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture and commitment to fostering academic, industry and government collaboration.

“I think the 100% Great Lakes Fish Initiative really encapsulates the mission of our work for sustainable resources,” said Remucal. “We’re really proud to be part of this partnership.”

During the event, participants could try a variety of non-filet fish dishes prepared by Third Coast Provisions in Milwaukee, including whitefish roe sliders, pickled herring kimbap, whitefish liver pate, buffalo walleye cheeks and whitefish chili. Restaurant co-owner Cameron Whyte said the team enjoyed finding creative ways to use different parts of the fish.

A participant picks up a small plate of pickled herring kimbap.

A participant picks up a small plate of pickled herring kimbap. Photo: Front Room Studios

“They sent us some really cool products to try, and it was really kind of a fun opportunity for us to flex our culinary muscles and do something a little different,” said Whyte.

The event also featured non-food items, such as locally produced fish leather, fertilizer and dog treats. Several products from Iceland, such as a fish collagen-infused energy drinks and supplements were also on display.

Naftzger explained that the 100% Great Lakes Fish initiative is modeled after Iceland’s efforts to use all parts of harvested cod. According to GSGP, over 90% is now used, and the value of products made from cod has risen from $12 to $4,000. What was once waste is now an ingredient in beverages, cosmetics and medicinal bandages.  

For Door County commercial fisherman Charlie Henriksen, who attended the event, the increase in value of Lake Michigan whitefish doesn’t need to be dramatic for impacts to be felt.

“If six dollars of that trickles back to us, or even if the value of that fish doubles to us, it’s a game changer,” said Henriksen. “It makes our businesses viable, and it gives us a lot of hope.”

 

The post Head to Tail Fish Showcase invites producers and consumers to think beyond the fillet first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/head-to-tail-fish-showcase-invites-producers-and-consumers-to-think-beyond-the-fillet/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: aquaculture, Dave Northey, decision-makers, Doug Sackett, Emma Hauser, fish farming, Peter Fritsch, Peter Shep, rainbow trout, Sharon Moen, yellow perch
fish farmer Peter Shep stands in front of an old milking parlor building discussing aquaculture

Peter Shep discusses fish farming in front of the milking parlor that houses his aquaculture operation. Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant

When a small group of Wisconsin lawmakers and their staff peered into a milking parlor in Stoughton, Wisconsin, in late July, they learned that that not all dairy barns have cows. Some have fish.  

The visit to Mulberry Aquaponics and Hatchery was the first stop on a tour of four fish farms in southern Wisconsin that also included Northey Farms in Deerfield, Rushing Waters Fisheries in Palmyra and Crystal Clear Fish Farm in Beaver Dam. Hosted by Wisconsin Sea Grant and industry partners, the tour brought together decision-makers to learn more about aquaculture and the challenges fish farmers face. State Senator Mark Spreitzer and staff from the offices of state Reps. Rozar, Moses and Shankland were all in attendance as were Lauren Kisley, the new veterinary program manager from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, and Ben Gollon, president of the Wisconsin Aquaculture Association and president/CEO at Gollon Brothers Wholesale Live Bait Inc.

Sharon Moen, Wisconsin Sea Grant food-fish outreach coordinator, organized the tour with fish farmers and funding from the National Sea Grant office.

“This tour was a direct response to a needs assessment Wisconsin Sea Grant conducted with fish farmers,” said Moen. “The farmers prioritized developing better lines of communication with decision-makers so we designed an opportunity where that could happen. We loaded fish farmers, decision-makers and Sea Grant facilitators aboard two minivans and drove 150 miles with stops at four fish farms and one Kwik Trip, having meaningful conversations along the way.”

Stop one: Growing perch in a barn 

Inside the milking parlor at Mulberry Aquaponics and Hatchery, fish farmer Peter Shep explained how he raises yellow perch from egg to fingerling using a recirculating aquaculture system, which filters and recycles up to 90% of the water. This specialized equipment can be costly, but Shep used inexpensive materials like stock tanks, PVC pipes and solar-powered pumps to craft an affordable but effective system.  

Peter Shep dips a net into a blue tank that holds yellow perch.

Shep dips a net into one of the tanks where he raises yellow perch. Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant

His graduate education helped. Shep started the business after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, where he worked with Professor Dong-Fang Deng, who specializes in yellow perch production.  

Raising fish in a gleaming, high-tech university lab, however, is not the same as raising fish in a renovated dairy barn. Despite using similar methods, Shep’s tanks produced fewer yellow perch per gallon than those at the university. The difference underlined the need for more research to be done on actual fish farms, where conditions are different than those in the lab. Wanting to solve some of the research-to-application challenges, he is returning to school in fall to pursue a doctorate degree in the Deng lab.

Shep also cited the technical challenges of raising perch, which are prone to dying within the first 30 days. In addition to being “finnicky,” perch are learning to eat and don’t always direct their hunger at the right thing. “They love to eat each other,” he said, showing photographic evidence to a rapt tour group. 

If the perch survive, fingerlings are sold to “grow-out” farms that raise fish to the desired size for stocking in lakes or ponds. And demand is high. One buyer was interested in purchasing up to 250,000 fingerlings, which is more than double Mulberry Aquaponics’ goal for 2024.  

Stop two: Where experience and innovation meet

Fish farmer Dave Northey talks with the group of decision-makers

Dave Northey discusses trying out recirculating aquaculture with the tour group. Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant

The next stop was Northey Farms in Deerfield, where owner Dave Northey has raised yellow perch for nearly 30 years. Walking into an outbuilding, the tour group peeked into tanks that looked a lot like Shep’s.

Northey used to rear 300,000 to 900,000 fish exclusively in outdoor ponds, but several bad years and a serendipitous meeting with Shep encouraged him to try a recirculating aquaculture system. Compared to the pond system, Northey said RAS uses less water and offers the opportunity for multiple crops per year.

While production hasn’t bounced back to previous levels, Northey continues to work with Shep and Doug Sackett of Crystal Clear Fish Farm to optimize their systems and try new things. In this informal “co-op,” the trio share information as colleagues rather than competitors.  

 

Stop three: Raising rainbow trout for the dinner plate 

Trout farmer Peter Fritsch wears a blue shirt emblazoned with the logo of his business, Rushing Waters Fisheries, and discusses his business with tour group

Peter Fritsch of Rushing Waters took the group on a tour of the outdoor ponds where he raises rainbow trout. Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant

Heading east, the tour’s lunchtime stop was at the state’s largest commercial rainbow trout farm, Rushing Waters Fisheries in Palmyra. The 80-acre farm produces around 225,000 pounds of fish per year in outdoor ponds and features a seafood processing facility that makes fish products sold on-site and in stores. Fish are raised from egg to harvest right on the farm.

Owner Peter Fritsch explained that the ponds where he raises rainbow trout are spring-fed and hover around 50 degrees year-round. The consistently cold temperature is what makes trout farming possible, as trout need cold water to survive. 

Being spring-fed, the waters were also clear and the fish easy to spot — not just for humans, but also birds. Fritsch said great blue herons and eagles like the easy pickings of ponds filled with fish and often hang around the farm. In the past, he used netting to deter predators and now uses laser technology to scare birds away. 

Over a lunch of salmon burgers (a product processed and sold by Rushing Waters), Fritsch discussed further challenges fish farmers face, such as securing permits and the differences between federal and state regulations of fish farms. Another one is the high cost of starting and sustaining a farm. 

“How do you make a little money in aquaculture? Start with a lot,” joked Fritsch. He encouraged the decision-makers to think about ways they can support fish farmers and those new to the industry. 

Stop four: Making fish big

Fish farmer doug Sackett nets several perch from him pond as the tour group watches

Doug Sackett of Crystal Clear Farms (right) nets yellow perch for a photo op with Sen. Spreitzer. Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant

With fish on the mind and in the belly, the tour headed toward the fourth and final stop with Doug Sackett, owner of Crystal Clear Fish Farm in Beaver Dam.  

Sackett runs a “grow-out” farm, where — like the name suggests — he grows out fingerling yellow perch in eight outdoor ponds to be stocked in lakes across the state. He purchases his fingerlings from both Shep and Northey and is part of their informal co-op.  

Sackett’s goal is to keep the fish healthy and make them big, usually between 5 and 7 inches. He feeds fish twice a day, propelling pellets into the pond with a leaf blower, and works to maintain the appropriate temperature and dissolved oxygen levels. In fall, once the fish are big enough, he uses seine nets to corral and remove them from the ponds. The fish are then transported via truck to lakes and ponds. Most of Sackett’s clients are lake associations looking to boost numbers of yellow perch in their lake.

Sen. Spreitzer posed with one of Sackett’s perch but wasn’t spared the splash as the fish flopped back to the water.

 

Back on the bus, the wheels continue to turn on the future of Wisconsin aquaculture

As tour attendees boarded the vans to return to Madison, Sackett chatted with Ben Gollon, president of the Wisconsin Aquaculture Association, and Wisconsin Sea Grant aquaculture outreach specialist, Emma Hauser, about strategies for increasing oxygen in the ponds while keeping them cool during the hot summer months. The discussion was yet another example of how this excursion brought farmers, researchers and extension folks together in sharing knowledge and making connections.

The tour also invited lawmakers and legislative staff into the aquaculture conversation, many of whom asked questions of fish farmers on the car rides between stops. One asked whether fish, like other crops, could be insured; another asked about how to start an aquaponics system, which uses nutrients from fish waste to grow greens, at home. Others wanted to know more about how regulation works within the industry. 

Knowledge sharing, however, wasn’t a one-way street: Fish farmers also had a chance to ask questions of decision-makers. They asked how and when to best connect with and educate lawmakers about the industry and discussed how bills become laws. Some were curious about what it was like to manage a campaign or run for office. 

After the tour, Gollon asked, “This was such a great tour and discussion. Let’s do it again. Where are we going to go next?”

Moen said she was pleased by the depth of the questions and conversations during the tour and pointed toward more opportunities for connecting in the future. She said, “I think we can call this a resounding success as the fish farmers are talking about ‘next time’ and the legislative participants suggested that Wisconsin Sea Grant and fish farmers cooperate to hold a briefing at the state capitol. And — spoiler alert — we recently received word that our proposal to organize this type of opportunity in 2025 received funding.”

This project was made possible by a grant from the National Sea Grant Office (NOAA-OAR-SG-2023-2007550) to the Ohio (lead), Wisconsin and Minnesota Sea Grant programs.

The tour group stands in front of an outdoor pond

Fish farmers, decision-makers and Sea Grant staff pose for a photo in front of Crystal Clear Fish Farm’s yellow perch ponds. Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant

 

 

The post A fish farm field trip for Wisconsin decision-makers highlights challenges and future of aquaculture first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/a-fish-farm-field-trip-for-wisconsin-decision-makers-highlights-challenges-and-future-of-aquaculture/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: Apostle Islands Grand Cruise, Bayfield Peninsula, Big Bay Town Park Madeline Island, Bill Bodin, Eat Wisconsin Fish, Emma Hauser, Friends of the Apostle Islands, Hoop's Fisheries, Jeff Rennicke, Melonee Montano, Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, Sharon Moen, Wave Watch Buoy Project, Zhaagawaamikong Neyaashi

Members of the Wisconsin Sea Grant communications team look into an aquaculture tank at the Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility while Emma Hauser looks on. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Each summer, our communications team goes out in the field to see Sea Grant projects firsthand and to spend time with each other. This year’s learning trip took us to the Bayfield Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.

Emma Hauser shows off one of NADF’s aquacultured salmon. Image credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

Highlights on the first day included a visit to the Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility in Red Cliff, where Sea Grant’s Emma Hauser helped us get up close and personal with some salmon. For dinner, we got even closer to fish as we ate Lake Superior whitefish caught by Hoop’s Fisheries in Bayfield.

Lake Superior whitefish (and chips) caught and cooked by Hoop’s Fisheries. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

On Day Two, we learned about the Wave Watch Buoy Project in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore from Jeff Rennicke, director of the Friends of the Apostle Islands. These University of Wisconsin–Madison data buoys allow boaters to access wind and wave information online, making for more safe boating.

Jeff Rennicke (right) with the Friends of the Apostle Islands talks about the group’s projects while Sea Grant’s Natalie Chin (left) and Moira Harrington (center) listen on the Bayfield City Dock. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Next, we toured Bodin’s Fisheries where Bill Bodin showed us how Lake Superior fish are processed after they’re caught. Afterward at a shore lunch hosted by Eat Wisconsin Fish’s Sharon Moen, we dined on Bodin’s whitefish, cooked over a charcoal grill.

Bill Bodin in his fish store. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Lake Superior fish caught by Bodin’s Fisheries. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Sated, we caught the ferry to Madeline Island where we walked through a drizzle on the Big Bay Town Park boardwalk and learned more about the park’s unique lagoon, which is surrounded by a floating fen mat and, on the other side, a beautiful Lake Superior beach.

We caught the ferry back to the mainland only to board another boat for a grand cruise on the Apostle Islands. During the hourlong ride, we learned about the rich history of human interaction with these islands in Lake Superior. We saw lighthouses and sea caves cut into the island sandstone by the lake. We also waved to one of the Wave Watch buoys as we motored past.

Devil’s Island, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

On the final day of our field trip, we drove to Superior, Wisconsin, where we met with Melonee Montano, one of the leads for a project that is investigating how  Anishinaabe people connected to and homesteaded the lands of “Zhaagawaamikong Neyaashi” (Minnesota and Wisconsin points) and how they used fire to manage the landscape. She took us to both points and discussed the differences in habitats and uses.

Communications summer student Abigail Brown takes a photo of Melonee Montano on Minnesota Point for a video about her project. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

When the trip was over, I, for one, felt like my head was heavier from all the knowledge imparted by our speakers and experiences. These “crash courses” help greatly with our work to interpret Sea Grant research and outreach projects by providing us with vital background information. Plus, it’s not every day I get to watch a colleague hug a 20-pound salmon!

Editor Elizabeth White gets personal with a salmon at NADF while Emma Hauser looks on. Image credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

 

 

The post Sea Grant communications team gets crash course in aquaculture, Lake Superior fish, buoys, bogs, islands and fire first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/sea-grant-communications-team-gets-crash-course-in-aquaculture-lake-superior-fish-buoys-bogs-islands-and-fire/

Marie Zhuikov

On:
In: Great Lakes commercial fishing, Great Lakes Future Fishers Initiative, Lauren Jescovitch, Michigan Sea Grant, Sharon Moen, Titus Seilheimer, workforce development

 

A fisher in bright orange work clothes cleans a fishing net

A Great Lakes commercial fisher cleans a fishing net. Photo credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

A new publication from a team of Sea Grant researchers lays out a framework for training the future fleet of small-scale commercial fishers and processors in the Great Lakes.

The study, published in the March issue of the Fisheries magazine, proposes place-based, adaptable training content for the Great Lakes Future Fishers Initiative, an apprenticeship program aimed at recruiting and preparing young people for commercial fishing.

The initiative responds to the industry’s concerns about the lack of a future workforce.

“It’s an aging fleet. It’s definitely a hard business,” said Titus Seilheimer, fisheries outreach specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant and coauthor of the study. “We talked to the industry folks and found out what they needed. And you know, what they need is people.”

Seilheimer, alongside Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Food–Fish Outreach Coordinator Sharon Moen and Michigan Sea Grant’s Lauren Jescovitch, surveyed and conducted focus groups with those involved in the Great Lakes commercial fishing industry, including Anishinaabe fishers, multigenerational fishing families and staff from regulatory agencies, to learn more about workforce challenges and what’s needed to be successful in the job.

“A message we heard was that everyone’s needs were different,” said Seilheimer. “Different businesses wanted different things.”

As a result, the Great Lakes Future Fishers Initiative framework is designed to be used more as a menu rather than a curriculum, meaning businesses can select training content that is relevant to their workforce. Content is categorized into three topic areas: fundamental skills (e.g., business planning and marketing), processing skills (e.g., food safety training and knife handling), and deckhand skills (e.g., gear repair and boat navigation).

A harvest of lake whitefish in a net.

Lake whitefish are the most valuable fishery in the Great Lakes commercial fishing industry in Wisconsin. Photo credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

Another major takeaway from the survey was the importance of exposing people to industry at a young age. Of those that took the survey, 92% had some sort of interaction with commercial fishing and processing prior to doing it themselves.

“It wasn’t just a random job posting that they saw and applied to,” said Jescovitch. “Almost everybody that works in the industry had some previous exposure to [it.]”

Jescovitch said that’s where Sea Grant is well positioned to help.

“We can go into schools or even younger groups and [say], ‘hey, this is a possible career path,’ and make sure that people are just even aware that it exists.”

The Great Lakes commercial fishery is a multimillion-dollar industry in Wisconsin, with lake whitefish netting the highest value. Nearly 2 million pounds of lake whitefish were harvested from Lake Michigan and Lake Superior in 2020.

While the industry is small compared to that of the salty coasts, the research team emphasized just how embedded it is in the communities where it occurs. Losing fishing means losing part of the culture.

“This has been a part of our coastal communities for as long as people have lived on the shores of the Great Lakes,” said Seilheimer, pointing out that some communities, like Two Rivers, Wisconsin, have fishing imagery on their town logos and welcome signs.

For tribal fishing businesses, like the Red Cliff Fish Co., commercial fishing and processing is also a way to preserve Indigenous knowledge and traditions.

And much of the fish stays local. The study found that a little over 68% of processed fish—which refers to fish sold as filets or made into other products—stays within 100 km or 62 miles of where it’s caught.

Local harvest means local food security, and as Moen also pointed out, local pride. Commercial fishers and processors can enjoy knowing they put food on the plates of their neighbors. It’s a perk of the job.

“You’re providing good, healthy food for families in a community that you care about,” said Moen. “You can go home at the end of the day feeling like, ‘Wow, I made a difference in some family’s life.’”

The research team is currently applying for grant funding to get the program off the ground—and into coastal communities across the Great Lakes.

The post Training the next generation of Great Lakes commercial fishers first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/training-the-next-generation-of-great-lakes-commercial-fishers/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: Jean Sramek, Marie Zhuikov, Ned Netzel, Nic Peloquin, Northern Waters Smokehaus, Sharon Moen, Smoke on the Waterfront cookbook, The Fish Dish podcast, Woodblind, Zenith Bookstore

The cover of the Northern Waters Smokehaus cookbook, “Smoke on the Waterfront.” Image credit: Amazon.comThe latest informative and fun 27-minute episode of The Fish Dish Podcast features interviews with the creators of “Smoke on the Waterfront: The Northern Waters Smokehaus Cookbook,” and with a staff member from Duluth, Minnesota’s Zenith Bookstore, who reviewed the book. A finalist for a 2024 Minnesota Book Award, the cookbook offers recipes for the Smokehaus’ famous fish and smoked meats.

The Minnesota-based Smokehaus has Wisconsin connections through its fish, provided by commercial fishermen in northern Wisconsin on Lake Superior’s South Shore. Podcast listeners will hear the launch event held for the cookbook; in-depth interviews with Smokehaus staff Ned Netzel and Nic Peloquin about their roles with the cookbook; an insightful review by Jean Sramek, bookseller with Zenith Bookstore; and information on how to cook the Lake Superior Chowder recipe featured in the book.

Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Fish Dish podcast has provided the latest “dish” about Great Lakes fish for over two years and 15 episodes. Hosted by Food Fish Outreach Coordinator Sharon Moen and Science Communicator Marie Zhuikov, the series introduces listeners to the people behind Wisconsin’s fishing and aquaculture industries. Each episode includes a “Fish-o-licious” section where the hosts cook a new fish recipe. Ska music by Twin Ports band, Woodblind, ties it together.

The Fish Dish is available on Google Play, Spotify, iTunes and on the Fish Dish website.

The post Northern Waters Smokehaus and Zenith Books featured on Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Fish Dish Podcast first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/northern-waters-smokehaus-and-zenith-books-featured-on-wisconsin-sea-grants-fish-dish-podcast/

Marie Zhuikov

On:
In: aquaculture, Emma Hauser, Sharon Moen, Titus Seilheimer, Wisconsin and Minnesota Aquaculture Conference 2024, Wisconsin Aquaculture Association

a graphic announcing the Wisconsin and Minnesota Aquaculture conference on March 22-23

The largest aquaculture event in the upper Midwest, the Wisconsin & Minnesota Aquaculture Conference, will be held March 22–23 at the Legendary Waters Resort and Casino in Red Cliff, Wisconsin.

This year’s conference is being hosted and organized by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (UWSP NADF) and Wisconsin Sea Grant. The conference will feature more than 40 presenters from industry, state, federal and tribal facilities discussing current research and best management practices. Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour one of four local facilities: the Red Cliff Tribal Hatchery, Red Cliff Fish Company, Bodin Fisheries’ processing facility and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility.

Presentation topics are wide ranging and cover subjects such as water quality management, the economics of aquaculture, workforce development, fish health and how to bring aquaculture into the classroom. The event will also feature a trade show, silent auction, cooking demonstrations and student poster competition.

Attendees interested in learning more about recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) can sign up for a half-day workshop on March 23 at the UWSP NADF facility.

“This conference brings together such an amazing group of experts across our region, including representatives from state, federal, tribal and private industries and organizations,” said Emma Hauser, aquaculture outreach specialist with UWSP NADF and Wisconsin Sea Grant. “The most exciting aspect of this event is that it supports important networking opportunities, critical for building relationships within the aquaculture industry.”

Hauser will participate in a panel discussion with Dong-Fang Deng, aquaculture outreach and extension specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, on the workforce development issues and needs in the industry.

Said Hauser, “Workforce development continues to be one of the major bottlenecks to the aquaculture industry’s growth. I am thrilled to have aquaculture education experts, including Sea Grant, from across the country featured on this panel, to share their experiences, current educational pathways as well as help us strategically plan for workforce development into the future.”

The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, a major sponsor of the conference, is also supporting underrepresented students from around the region to attend and present on aquaculture topics. These student groups include Emerging Ladies Academy, Lakota Youth Development and Fiber Arts Omaha.  

Tiffany Gamble, founder of Emerging Ladies Academy stated, “Engagement in the conference for the academy ensures our curriculum stays current, fostering connections with industry professionals for potential collaborations and resources. This aligns with our commitment to empowering women in diverse fields, including aquaculture, and enhances our overall educational experience.”

Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Sharon Moen, food-fish outreach coordinator, will also facilitate an aquaculture marketing panel to showcase strategies and opportunities from various industry and state agencies. Moen will then don her chef’s hat alongside Titus Seilheimer, fisheries outreach specialist, as they demonstrate how to cook dishes featuring locally raised fish.

Conference registration is $125 for general admission and $80 for students. There is an additional $100 registration fee to attend the RAS workshop on March 23.

The conference is supported by the Wisconsin and Minnesota aquaculture associations, the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, Wisconsin Sea Grant, Minnesota Sea Grant and UWSP NADF, as well as various business sponsors.

The post Wisconsin & Minnesota Aquaculture Conference showcases the latest in fish farming education and research first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/wisconsin-minnesota-aquaculture-conference-showcases-the-latest-in-fish-farming-education-and-research/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: cisco fishery, Great Lakes commercial fishing, Great Lakes fish roe, Sharon Moen, Swedish Seafood Forum. Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, there are no cows on the ice, whitefish fishery, World Wildlife Fund-Sweden

The calendar has flipped to 2024. Our staff members are already tackling new projects. Before they move too deeply into the new year, however, some staff members took a moment to retain the glow of their favorite 2023 project. Sharon Moen, food-fish outreach coordinator, shared her thoughts.

Image credit: Sharon Moen, Wisconsin Sea Grant

There’s a Swedish saying: ingen ko på isen. “There are no cows on the ice.” It means a situation is under control. I know this phrase not because I have Scandinavian ancestry but because it helped me facilitate seafood sustainability conversations among the World Wildlife Fund-Sweden, the Swedish Seafood Forum, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, the Great Lakes commercial fishing industry and Great Lakes natural resource managers.

My work to clarify the sustainable management of Great Lakes cisco and lake whitefish fisheries began two years ago when a Wisconsin fish processor asked for help. The WWF-Sweden had red-rated these Great Lakes species, labeling the fisheries “unsustainable” and asking consumers to avoid purchasing products related to these fish, namely roe (fish eggs), which is popular in Sweden and valuable to the small-scale fishers of lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron. Swedes take seafood sustainability seriously. Roe sales plummeted as markets pulled product from their shelves.

Roe sales are important part of the annual income of fishers plying the waters of lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron. Image credit: Sharon Moen, Wisconsin Sea Grant

My efforts to facilitate the exchange of evidence-based information through presentations, fact sheets, emails, letters, conference calls and phone calls prompted the WWF-Sweden to reassess Wisconsin and Michigan’s lake whitefish fisheries and Wisconsin’s Lake Superior cisco fishery.

The reassessment was released in September. Lake Superior’s Wisconsin and Michigan fisheries leapt from red (do not) to green (good choice) and Lake Michigan’s lake whitefish fisheries improved to yellow (be careful). People in the industry estimate the mostly overseas sale of cisco and lake whitefish roe generates about $15 million in the U.S.

Working with communication challenges related to fisheries sustainability made me realize how distance, misunderstandings, the complexity of multi-jurisdictional fisheries and the scarcity of funds for accurate assessments can damage the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and the economic viability of coastal communities.

Read more about this project here.

Industry representatives surprised Sharon with flowers. The card reads “Congratulations on a major win!” Image credit: Sharon Moen, Wisconsin Sea Grant

 

The post Ciscoes, Sweden and Sustainability first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/ciscoes-sweden-and-sustainability/

Sharon Moen

On:
In: cisco, food-fish coordinator, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, lake whitefish, Sharon Moen, Sweden, Wisconsin Commercial Fisherman’s Association

Last week, Sea Grant’s Sharon Moen was the recipient of an Appreciation Award from the Wisconsin Commercial Fishing Association to honor her work to secure the overseas market for whitefish and cisco roe in Sweden.

In 2021, Moen responded to Wisconsin commercial fisher and fish processor requests for help in addressing challenges to the export of Great Lakes lake whitefish and Lake Superior cisco roe to Sweden. Negative sustainability ratings developed by the World Wildlife Fund-European Union prompted ICA Sweden–the largest grocery market chain in the country–and other markets, to remove the roe from shelves.

Moen, food-fish outreach coordinator, intervened and due to that educational outreach spanning roughly two years, the rating was changed last fall so sales valued at $15 million annually can resume.

Two people standing next to each other in a room. One person is holding a microphone. The other person is holding an award.

Sharon Moen accepts an award from the president of Wisconsin’s commercial fishing industry in honor of her work to restore a $15-million overseas market for Great Lakes fish products. Photo: Cindy Hudson, Michigan Sea Grant.

“I’m so pleased Wisconsin Sea Grant could facilitate the flow of evidence-based information in a way that helped the commercial fishing industry,” Moen said. “Sustainable fisheries management is an important topic and one our commercial fishers, fisheries managers and Sea Grant takes seriously.”

About Moen’s contribution, the association’s president Daniel Schwarz, said, “Moen’s commitment to this global project was extraordinary. No matter the size of the obstacle thrown her way, she managed to effectively tackle it and successfully conquer it. It is rare these days to see someone who truly cares to the point of no option for failure. Moen took the time to understand the issues at hand directly meeting with fishermen, processors/exporters around the upper Great Lakes in addition to reaching out to regulating government offices to collect updated correct information regarding the current status of the upper Great Lakes fishing industry.”

He continued, “Moen then effectively communicated all this information to Scandinavian regulatory agencies as well as consumers to build back the confidence in and credibility of the Great Lakes products. This enormous undertaking by one person took great leadership and communication skills, determination and passion.”

Schwarz is the owner of Dan’s Fish Inc., which is based in Sturgeon Bay. Wisconsin’s tribal and state-licensed commercial fishers primary catch lake whitefish, cisco and lake trout from Lake Superior. In Lake Michigan, state-licensed commercial fishers target lake whitefish and yellow perch. Burbot, rainbow smelt and chubs also make up part of Wisconsin’s Great Lakes commercial catch.

 

The post Moen honored by Wisconsin’s commercial fishers first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/moen-honored-by-wisconsins-commercial-fishers/

Moira Harrington

On:
In: Eat Wisconsin Fish, Jeremiah's Bullfrog Fish Farm, Jeremy Van Mill, Michael Valley, Prairie du Chien, Sharon Moen, Valley Fish and Cheese Shop

The calendar will soon flip to 2024. Our staff members are ready to tackle new projects in the coming months. Before they move more deeply into the new year, however, some staff members took a moment to retain the glow of their favorite 2023 project. Video Producer Bonnie Willison shared her thoughts.

Some of my favorite projects this year came out of an Eat Wisconsin Fish trip arranged by Sharon Moen. As Wisconsin Sea Grant’s food-fish outreach coordinator, Sharon visits commercial fishers and fish producers across Wisconsin to see what they’re up to and how Sea Grant can help. As the staff video/podcast producer, I tag along to produce profile videos of the interesting people in this corner of the fishing industry.

This June, we traveled to the Mississippi River, including stops in Menomonie, Mondovi, Prairie du Chien and Genoa. I think all of us on the trip (myself, Sharon, Emma Hauser, Jenna Mertz, and three summer outreach scholars) learned a lot about the fisheries of the Mississippi River.

 

One video I produced features Mike Valley, whose Fish and Cheese shop in Prairie du Chien is as colorful as his stories. Another video I made features the family behind Jeremiah’s Bullfrog Fish Farm and some of the best food visuals of the year, which made me hungry while I was editing.

 

When I think of video projects that carry out the Sea Grant mission, I think of my trips with Eat Wisconsin Fish. The profile videos educate the public about the sustainability of Wisconsin’s fish, our fishing heritage and career pathways in the industry. The videos promote Sea Grant’s brand, but also provide a service to the small business owners – a professionally made video that they can use to promote their business.

Lastly, the trip was a great in-the-field experience for our summer outreach scholars. My video production intern, Jeremy Van Mill, got to help shoot in five locations in two days, which, I think, is invaluable experience for someone looking for a career in video. Some of his footage made it into the final videos.

The post Eat Wisconsin Fish videos earn “favorite project” status first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/eat-wisconsin-fish-videos-earn-favorite-project-status/

Bonnie Willison

On:
In: aquaponics, Atlantic salmon, Emma Hauser, Hixton Wisconsin, Kyle Woolever, Marie Zhuikov, Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, recirculating aquaculture systems, Sam Heward, Sharon Moen, Superior Fresh

Sea Grant staff learned more about aquaponics from a tour of the Superior Fresh facility in Wisconsin. Here they stand in front of some Atlantic salmon being readied for market. From left to right: Sharon Moen, Jenna Mertz, Marie Zhuikov, Emma Hauser. Image credit: Kyle Woolever, Superior Fresh.

Superior Fresh knows what it takes to raise fish on land and plants in water.

The aquaponics business, located on 800 acres of rolling woodland and prairie in Hixton, Wisconsin, has been raising Atlantic salmon and growing salad greens in its indoor facilities since 2017. The business reports it’s the largest of its kind in the world, producing 1.5 million pounds of salmon per year plus organic-certified salad greens. 

It’s a big operation, and one I had the chance to tour in late October with a small group from Wisconsin Sea Grant that included Sharon Moen, food-fish outreach coordinator; Emma Hauser, aquaculture outreach and education specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant and the UW-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF); and Marie Zhuikov, fellow science communicator.

It was good opportunity for me, a newcomer to Sea Grant and the world of aquaculture, to learn more about fish farming and Superior Fresh’s recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). Wisconsin Sea Grant supports aquaculture research, including Hauser’s work in outreach, education and workforce development at NADF. Many of the interns NADF hosts go on to work at Superior Fresh—a fact evidenced by all the friendly faces Hauser recognized during our tour.

After pulling plastic coverings over our shoes (which required some artful hopping on my part), we followed Kyle Woolever, director of operations and a UW-Stevens Point graduate, as he showed us around the facility, which recently experienced a 60,000-square-foot expansion. He explained that the building houses half a million fish, all of which are reared in and transferred between tanks based on fish size and stage of lifecycle. Salmon are raised from egg to market size—which is about 10 pounds in just over two years.

All those fish, of course, require a constant flow of water. Gesturing toward the big tanks, Woolever talked about the water footprint of the facility.

“Two small wells are raising all of what you’re going to see on 50 [gallons per minute],” he said. (Residential wells pump between five and 10 gallons per minute.)

How does Superior Fresh raise salmon using relatively little water? The answer is their RAS, which includes high-tech equipment and monitoring to effectively clean and recycle the water throughout the facility. This water is also used in the greenhouse, where leafy greens further remove the nutrients they need to grow. The water then returns to the fish, and the cycle restarts.

Superior Fresh captures all wastewater from the production system by irrigating over 50 acres of native grasses and alfalfa, while operating with zero wastewater discharge. The grasses and alfalfa are cut and baled several times annually and are used by local farmers for cattle bedding. The business also uses other regenerative farming practices, such as creating a soil amendment from digested fish manure, which can be injected into fields before planting.

After touring the aquaculture facility, Woolever led us to the greenhouse, where the thrum of churning water faded to the quiet sound of plants photosynthesizing. It’s here where the nutrient-rich fish water fuels the growth of Superior Fresh’s organic salad greens.

Entering the greenhouse was an arresting sight. Rows of white rafts filled with lettuce, kale, mustard, arugula and sorrel floated in long tanks of water. Sam Heward, greenhouse manager, explained how plants make a linear journey from one side of “the pond” to the other. Baby greens spend about three weeks on the water before harvest.

The greenhouse is warm and bright and, we joke, the perfect place to be in winter. And it’s not just plants and humans that enjoy the summer-like conditions.

“It’s a perfect environment for plants,” said Heward, “which makes it also a perfect environment for [plant] diseases.”

The team is vigilant about watching for root disease and will change varieties or flush the tank if problems arise.

By the end of the tour, it was clear that Superior Fresh is working so that Atlantic salmon don’t have to be airfreighted across oceans from Chile or northern Europe—they can come from your local community—and greens don’t have to be grown thousands of miles away in sun-soaked states. In other words, they’re successfully forging another way to eat Wisconsin fish (with a side of salad).

The post A peek inside Superior Fresh first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/a-peek-inside-superior-fresh/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: cisco, commercial fisheries, Lake Superior, löjrom, roe, Sharon Moen, skirom, Sweden, whitefish
Dish and small spoon. Dish contains orange-pink fish eggs, known as caviar.

Wisconsin commercial fishermen will again have access to a lucrative European market for their fish roe, otherwise known as caviar, thanks to Wisconsin Sea Grant. Photo: Sharon Moen

Swedish hospitality wouldn’t be complete without a spread of crackers or bread and accompanying roe, the eggs from fish and also known as caviar. Because of Sea Grant’s role in facilitating the exchange of information, some of this roe will be coming from the Great Lakes.

A Sept. 28 decision from the World Wildlife Fund-Sweden to rank Wisconsin commercial lake whitefish and cisco fisheries as “best choice” with regard to sustainability means the roe from these fish can grace Swedish tables as a tasty, salty treat of skirom or löjrom without obstacles.  

Prior to that release of a “green, best choice” ranking for commercial fisheries in the Wisconsin and Michigan waters of Lake Superior the lake whitefish fishery, which yields sikrom, was in jeopardy. The cisco fishery of Lake Superior, which yields löjrom, was also in question. Great Lakes commercial fishers rely on the international sale of roe, a high-value product, to make ends meet.

Sharon Moen, Sea Grant’s food fish outreach coordinator, explained: “About two years ago, I was contacted by a fish processor/seafood importer/exporter operating in Door County. Because lake whitefish and cisco were rated red (unsustainable) by the World Wildlife Fund-Sweden, roe sales were plummeting as the products were being pulled from Swedish markets. The vigor with which red-rated products are leaving the Swedish marketplace has escalated each year since then. If the ratings didn’t change this year, the Great Lakes roe industry would have been devastated.”

Thanks to Moen’s intervention that rating changed from red to green early in the morning on Sept. 28 when new rankings were released. What led up to that change were Moen’s presentations to the Swedish Seafood forum, production and distribution of fact sheets on the fishery and lengthy facilitated conversations. She brought together Great Lakes fisheries managers, roe processors, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch staff, World Wildlife Fund-EU, World Wildlife Fund-Sweden and Swedish seafood industry leaders.

There is another “green” to celebrate, green to the tune of $15 million annually. That’s the estimate from domestic tribal and commercial fishers and processors about the worth of their anticipated roe export to Europe.

“Within minutes of my Sept. 28 joint presentation with Andy Edwards, treaty natural resources manager with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the two largest retail chains in

Close-up of smiling person

Sharon Moen is the food fish outreach coordinator and brought together many parties to discuss Lake Superior lake whitefish and cisco.

Sweden contacted an importer to place orders,” said Moen.

One of those importers reached out to Moen and said, “It’s thanks to your hard work and extraordinary presentation our deepest wishes came true!,” said Tony Hartwig, CEO of Olle Hartwig Aktiebolag. “Now, we have busy days working out a market plan to promote roe again from Lake Superior, Wisconsin!”

Moen is pleased the ranking has been changed because she wholeheartedly stands by the science behind the management of the fishery and the professionalism of the commercial fishers. “From my perspective, the red rating reflected communication challenges, the complexity of Great Lakes fisheries management and the scarcity of money for a due-diligence assessment.”

As Dan Grooms said, “Fishing the Apostle Islands for food had been an integral part of the Anishinaabe’s way of life. Our fishers and our tribe depend on responsible fisheries management for sustainability for future generations.” Grooms was formerly the business manager of Red Cliff Fish Co., a business owned by the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

The post Sea Grant education on fishery expected to lead to $15 million in exports to Sweden first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/sea-grant-education-on-fishery-expected-to-lead-to-15-million-in-exports-to-sweden/

Moira Harrington

On:
In: Alison Mikulyuk, aquaculture, Dong-Fang Deng, Emma Hauser, Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, Sharon Moen, Summer Research Opportunities Program

Two new grants set to build water-related workforce development

The labor landscape in Wisconsin is closely bound to demographics and it comes down to this simple reality: shoes are not being filled.

U.S. Census data shows Wisconsinites of traditional retirement age, 65, have increased 42% since 2005. At the same time, the number of people entering the workforce is contracting because state birth rates have slowed and there are fewer young people. Another aspect of this workforce-shortage trend is that young people are bypassing Wisconsin, choosing to work and live elsewhere as they chase their American dreams.

Now, thanks to an infusion of two new grants, Wisconsin Sea Grant is positioned to facilitate the paths young people are considering as they sort through workforce choices, including where they may eventually want to find training and education, take a job and make a home.

With $592,332 in support from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin (FWC) over two years, the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program will continue its work to develop Wisconsin’s next generation of freshwater scientists.

The program matches water-related mentors from throughout the University of Wisconsin System with undergraduates to guide them in an immersive research experience and acquaint them with the many graduate school opportunities in Wisconsin.

 The program just wrapped up its second summer, which attracted 31 students from across the nation to work on the system campuses at Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh and Superior.

Closeup of a smiling person

Alison Mikulyuk is coordinating the work of summer research scholars.

Sea Grant’s Alison Mikulyuk coordinates the program which, she said, is growing freshwater research and the workforce through collaborative, cross-system programming that trains and will, ultimately, recruit, retain and diversify the next generation of water professionals.

“The program attracts talented students to the Badger State where they gain skills that are directly applicable to future work in Wisconsin,” Mikulyuk said. “Having just seen these young people through the summer, I’m incredibly inspired. The students made an impressive showing at the recent Summer Research Symposium, and so many of them have had life-altering experiences that I know will fuel their future accomplishments.”

The second two-year FWC grant will provide $207,400 for a project called “Partnering to Boost Aquaculture Workforce Development in Wisconsin.”

Sharon Moen, food-fish outreach coordinator, conducted a 2020 needs assessment of Wisconsin’s food-fish farmers and heard over and over again the need to bring young people into the industry.

“The U.S. imports more than 70% of its fish and shrimp. About half of these imports come from overseas farms. Meanwhile, consumers are calling for locally produced food that supports American jobs, and the health of themselves and their loved ones. Wisconsin aquaculture, aquaculture being another word for fish farming, is primed to meet that demand,” Moen said. “The industry just needs workers and this project will expand training opportunities, linking commercial fish farms in the state to high schools, colleges and universities to foster farm experiences and skill-building workshops.”

Close-up of smiling person

Sharon Moen will work with colleagues on aquaculture industry workforce development.

She said one such idea for that skill-building will be supporting high school teams to participate in an existing annual aquaculture competition. Students design and build a system to grow fish.

Moen will work with Sea Grant colleagues Dong-Fang Deng and Emma Hauser, both aquaculture outreach and education specialists. Deng is based at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Hauser works out of UW-Steven’s Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility on the Bayfield Peninsula, not too far from Lake Superior.

“With Dong-Fang’s and Emma’s connections and our collective enthusiasm for this project, we are looking forward to successfully inspiring young people to enter the aquaculture workforce. It can offer a good standard of living and a remarkable quality of life,” Moen said.

The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin is a partnership of Wisconsin’s 13 public universities, connecting with industry partners, local communities, policymakers and advocacy groups. Its mission is to establish Wisconsin as a world leader in freshwater science, technology, entrepreneurship and economic growth. The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin is training the next generation of scientists to solve global water resource problems through academic programs, collaborative research and career development across the UW System.

The post Filling water shoes first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/filling-water-shoes/

Moira Harrington

On:
In: Anne Moser, aquaculture, Climate change, Emma Hauser, Gavin Dehnert, green infrastructure, herbicides, Natalie Chin, PFAS, Sharon Moen, Summer scholars, Tim Campbell, Wisconsin Water Library

In this second part of a two-part series on Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Summer Outreach Opportunities Program Scholars, we introduce six more scholars working on five projects.

***

What did you do this summer?

A seagull

A seagull enjoys summer at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee.
Photo credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

It’s a question that, in the middle of August, might prompt panicked reexamination of how you spent the long, warm days of a fleeting season.

For Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Summer Outreach Opportunities Program scholars, the answers come easily.

This summer, 12 undergraduate students from across the country spent a jam-packed 10 weeks collaborating with outreach specialists on coastal and water resources projects across Wisconsin. Scholars conducted research, engaged kids and adults and shared the stories of Great Lakes science, all while working alongside mentors to explore careers and graduate education in the aquatic sciences.

Whether they wrangled fish in Green Bay or researched green infrastructure in Ashland, scholars have much to share about how they spent their summers. Here’s a snapshot of the final five projects in our series.

 

Project: Climate Change and Green Infrastructure

It’s summer in Ashland, Wisconsin, and summer scholar Alexander Wuethrich is already thinking about winter.

Alex Wuethrich

Summer scholar Alex Wuethrich. Photo credit: Alex Wuethrich

Wuethrich, a senior at Northland College majoring in climate science with a minor in physics, is working under the mentorship of Climate and Tourism Outreach Specialist Natalie Chin to research the ways the city of Ashland can use green infrastructure to absorb and slow the flow of stormwater into Lake Superior. He’s focusing on rainwater—but also snow.

Wuethrich explained that the city receives so much snow in winter that crews remove it from city streets and take it to a snow dump site. The current location makes it easy for polluted runoff to enter local waterways.

“Right now, [the site] is at the top of a ravine that leads into a river,” said Wuethrich. As the snow melts, water carries all the sediment, salt and pollutants picked up from city streets into the river, which leads to Lake Superior.

One option is constructing a wetland, which can slow down water and allow sediments to settle out. Wetland plants can also remove heavy metals. Said Wuethrich, “It’ll bring out a lot of those contaminants that we want to keep out of the water system.”

The city can also take measures to prevent pollutants from being on the street in the first place. Enter the street sweeper.

“Learning about how much of a difference [street sweeping] can make was a real eye-opener for me,” Wuethrich said. Working along sweeper routes for three days, he discovered they do more than just tidy up roads. “[Street sweepers] can also pick up heavy metals and other things from cars…like lead and copper that’ll naturally wear off.” Street sweepers also collect dust and sediment before rainwater washes them into the lake.

In addition to getting a crash course in public works, Wuethrich has been using GIS to map storm sewers and catchment basins in the city and developed educational materials on green infrastructure and how to maintain stormwater ponds in the city. He also created a list of trees that, if approved by the city council, would shape what trees can be planted along city streets. The list prioritizes salt- and drought-tolerant native species that could adapt to a warmer, climate-changed future.

The summer scholar experience has underlined that getting involved matters. Said Wuethrich, “It makes a big difference what your local administrators are doing.”

 

Project: Eat Wisconsin Fish

For Jojo Hunt and Crow Idnani, this was the summer of fish. Paired with Food-Fish Outreach Coordinator Sharon Moen and Aquaculture Outreach and Education Specialist Emma Hauser in Superior, Wisconsin, the scholars spent their summers immersed in the commercial fishing and aquaculture industries across the state: visiting producers, learning about the industry and sharing what they’ve learned. Both scholars completed projects that seek to educate and connect consumers with fish caught or farmed in Wisconsin.

Jojo Hunt gives the thumbs up next to a large tank of fish

Jojo Hunt at the UW-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility. Photo credit: Jojo Hunt

Hunt, a junior at the University of Denver majoring in GIS with minors in computer science and math, is updating the fish finder map on the Eat Wisconsin Fish website, which helps consumers find local businesses that raise or sell Wisconsin fish.

“The main goal of the map is to bring more attention and awareness to where [the businesses] are and what they do and hopefully break some of those stereotypes,” she said, pointing to the misconception that farm-raised fish is unsustainable.

Hunt is also experimenting with different map-making tools to feature profiles of the producers alongside the data. “I thought it’d be kind of nice to see those right under the map to make the points have a story,” said Hunt.

Crow Idnani at the UW-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility

Crow Idnani at the UW-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility. Photo credit: Crow Idnani

Idnani is also working to dispel myths about aquaculture by suggesting updates to A Consumer’s Guide for Wisconsin Farm-Raised Fish, a publication of the UW–Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF) and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The current guide provides an overview of the aquaculture industry in Wisconsin but can get overly technical. Idnani, a sophomore at Cornell University majoring in environmental science with an eye toward science communication, is reviewing the guide through a consumer lens so that it is more useful for the general public.

A creative piece is in the works, too. Idnani is also writing an article tracing the life of an Atlantic salmon at NADF, from when the fish hatches to when it is harvested. Idnani, Hauser and Moen plan to pitch the story to a regional publication to get it in front of audiences outside the aquaculture industry.

From measuring and sorting Atlantic salmon at the NADF facility to preparing shore lunches and teaching kids about aquaculture, the scholars have—unsurprisingly—learned a lot about all things fish.

Said Idnani, “I never grilled a fish until coming here; I never handled a live fish until coming here. It’s been a lot of firsts, but I’ve enjoyed it.”

 

Projects: PFAS Bioaccumulation in Plants and Animals Associated with Aquatic Ecosystems

Assessing Aquatic Plant Management Tools for Invasive, Native and Nontarget Organisms in Lake Ecosystems

Britta McKinnon

Summer scholar Britta McKinnon. Photo credit: Britta McKinnon

Britta McKinnon and Heidi Wegehaupt spent their summers in lakes and labs working to paint a more complete picture of how contaminants enter and impact aquatic ecosystems. The scholars participated in two research projects: one focused on poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and the other on herbicides.

McKinnon, a junior at UW–Milwaukee majoring in aquatic sciences, focused primarily on PFAS. Under the direction of Emerging Contaminants Scientist Gavin Dehnert, she identified potential sources of PFAS in northern Wisconsin. McKinnon paid special attention to airports, which use PFAS-containing foams to extinguish fires, as well as landfills and papermills. She noted lakes that may be affected by contaminated runoff.

PFAS can persist in water for a long time. Sometimes called “forever chemicals,” they do not break down easily and can get taken up by plants and animals—and eventually humans—in a process known as bioaccumulation. McKinnon developed a series of factsheets explaining what PFAS are, how they enter and move through the environment and the concerns they pose for human health.

In sharing information with others, she learned a lot about PFAS herself. For example: PFAS are not one substance but many. “I had no idea that there are thousands of different types,” said McKinnon.

Herbicides, not PFAS, were the subject of Heidi Wegehaupt’s research this summer. Working with Dehnert and aquatic invasive outreach specialist Tim Campbell, Wegehaupt collected water and fish samples across three lakes in northern Wisconsin to determine how the herbicide 2,4-Dicholrophenoxyacetic acid affects nonnative Eurasian watermilfoil, the intended target, and nontarget aquatic organisms.

Said Wegehaupt, “Each waterbody has a unique ecological composition, meaning they all react to herbicides differently.”

Knowing how the herbicide affects nontarget species like fish will help lake associations make informed decisions about how to manage invasive species on their lake.

In collecting samples from different lakes, Wegehaupt, a senior at UW–Madison majoring in conservation biology with a certificate in environmental studies, learned she loved fieldwork.

“My favorite part of this experience so far has been spending time at the lakes we’re sampling and just taking the time to enjoy being outside. Getting to know the lakes we work on and talking with locals has been enlightening to my experience as a whole,” said Wegehaupt.

McKinnon, on the other hand, was excited about the lab work. In addition to her PFAS research, McKinnon helped the research team test the impacts of herbicides on fish scale growth. It reminded her of her favorite class, chemistry. Said McKinnon, “I found that I’m in love with the laboratory aspects.”

Neither scholar had previous experience in environmental toxicology but both used the summer to explore which aspects of the research process resonated with them.

Said Wegehaupt, “I still have one year left at UW, so hopefully this opportunity helps me form a path for the future.”

 

Project: Expanding Voices Heard in the Wisconsin Water Library

India-Bleu Niehoff helps children with an activity at the library.

India-Bleu Niehoff helps children with an activity at the library. Photo credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

As a summer scholar with the Wisconsin Water Library at UW–Madison, India-Bleu Niehoff learned quickly that working at a small library means variety is routine.

“It’s a special academic library, which basically means you do everything,” said Niehoff.

There’s the minding of books, of course—over 35,000 about the Great Lakes and waters of Wisconsin—but then there’s the sharing of books through blog posts, book clubs and library programming across the state. Alongside Senior Special Librarian and Education Coordinator Anne Moser, Niehoff led lessons on shipwrecks and sturgeon and coached kids how to use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) constructed from clothes hangers.

A rising graduate student in library and information studies, Niehoff was game for it all.  

One of her projects was to help coordinate the fall edition of the Maadagindan! Start Reading! book club. A collaboration between Wisconsin Sea Grant, the Wisconsin Water Library and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Maadagindan! brings together parents and educators to discuss children’s books about Ojibwe culture and language. Meetings also feature an honored guest, usually the author, illustrator or a member of the Ojibwe community who speaks to the themes or importance of the book.

Niehoff researched and helped select the four books, all of which are written by Indigenous women authors. It was difficult to choose just four. As she learned, it’s easy to get lost down the dazzling rabbit hole of books.

“Once you start searching, you keep finding,” she said.

Niehoff also wrote blog posts for the Water Library’s Aqualog blog, the first of which centers on underrepresented groups in nature. The two-part post outlines resources about the history of racism in conservation as well as organizations working to make the outdoors accessible to everyone. The second post, currently under development, will feature resources about Indigenous women in STEM.

India-Bleu Niehoff leads an activity about Great Lakes shipwrecks

Niehoff leads an activity about Great Lakes shipwrecks. Photo credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

Said Niehoff, “I’ve really enjoyed looking into stuff I’m passionate about and interested in and then accumulate it and make it something that’s available to other people.”

And let’s not forget about the shipwrecks and sturgeon. Niehoff and Moser travelled across the state, from Madison to Sheboygan to Eau Claire, delivering Great Lakes education programming for kids at local libraries. They read books, led kids in the Japanese art of gyotaku and printed fish on paper and played Great Lakes trivia. Watching Moser, Niehoff learned how to engage kids when reading aloud.

Everybody was learning something.

“Going to local communities and sharing this information [was] really enjoyable. Especially because it’s not just kids, it’s parents and whatever grown-up that’s with them,” said Niehoff.

The summer scholar experience allowed Niehoff to experience many different aspects of working at a library, from cataloguing books to leading kids in crafts. Struck by the breadth of the discipline, she’s got a lot to think about going into her first year of grad school.

Said Niehoff, “There are so many different directions you can go.”

 

The post Summer scholars dip toes into water-related careers: Part two first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/summer-scholars-dip-toes-into-water-related-careers-part-two/

Jenna Mertz

On:
In: 2023 Communications Service Award, award, National Sea Grant Communicators Network, Sharon Moen

Sea Grant’s Sharon Moen won the 2023 Communications Service Award from the National Sea Grant Communicators Network in a virtual ceremony last week.

Moen has been a part of the Sea Grant community for 24 years, beginning as an editor for Minnesota Sea Grant and now serving as the food-fish outreach coordinator for Wisconsin Sea Grant. Throughout the years, her skills at conveying messages about the study, conservation and economic importance of the Great Lakes have been front and center.

“Science communications work can be terrifying, funny, riveting and maddening but it is certainly important,” Sharon Moen said. “I’m honored my colleagues recognized my terror and joy with this award. I continue to be inspired by the Sea Grant Network and the innovative ways its communicators are extending information to enhance the use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources.” 

Close-up of smiling person

This award is presented every two years to an individual from one of Sea Grant’s 34 programs located in coastal states, as well as Guam and Puerto Rico. It recognizes creativity, vision and a commitment to the Sea Grant mission and goes to someone who has notched noteworthy accomplishments. In Moen’s case that has been a lengthy list, including:

  • Publishing a book in 2015 that detailed the founding of the national Sea Grant program by Athelstan Spilhaus, a scientist, inventor and former university dean.
  • Taking on national leadership roles that improved the effectiveness of the overall program.
  • Leading a communication planning effort for an aquatic invasive species prevention campaign in the Great Lakes basin.
  • Preparing a Great Lakes research symposium report, and another about ballast water, coordinating work between U.S. and Canadian scientists and other international professionals.
  • Creating an award-winning podcast series focused on Lake Superior.

In selecting her for the award, one judge said, “Sharon has had a remarkable impact on state, regional and Sea Grant network communications throughout her career. Her ability to relay scientific information in a creative and engaging way has set a standard for science communication.”

The post Sea Grant staff member wins national award first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/sea-grant-staff-member-wins-national-award/

Moira Harrington

On:
In: A Taste of Wisconsin Waters event, Bodin Fisheries, Charlie Henriksen, Emma Hauser, Henriksen Fisheries, Ho-Chunk Nation, Hoop's Fish Market, Marlon White Eagle, Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, Preston Cole, Rock Springs Free Spring water, Sharon Moen, Steve Summerfelt, Superior Fresh, United Nations Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

A Wisconsin Sea Grant event held in Madison this fall celebrated Wisconsin’s water, from drinking water to water on which businesses rely for their livelihoods. These include commercial fishing and aquaculture operations.

A centerpiece at the Taste of Wisconsin Waters event featured a floating candle, cranberries and rocks. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

This first-ever, invitation-only event was organized by Sharon Moen, food fish outreach specialist. She got the idea from conducting a needs assessment with commercial fishermen and fish farmers in Wisconsin.

“They told me what they would really like Sea Grant to help them with was articulating the importance of their industries to decision-makers,” Moen said. She incorporated that into the event by inviting state legislators and natural resource professionals. Two other objectives were to celebrate Wisconsin Sea Grant’s 50th anniversary and the United Nations’ Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture.

“The U.N. really took a bold stand on supporting local fishing communities and what they bring to society,” Moen said. “Certainly, aquaculture and fisheries in Wisconsin could be considered artisanal compared to some of the big operations.”

A Taste of Wisconsin Waters featured a water bar where event-goers could sample nine waters from around the state and vote for their favorite. Same for a fish spread table, which featured eight spreads donated by commercial fisherman and fish farmers throughout the state.

The favorite Wisconsin water was Rock Springs Free Spring water from a natural spring near Madison. The favorite fish spread was a tie between Bodin Fisheries and Hoop’s Fish Market. Both are located in Bayfield, Wisconsin, and used whitefish as their base ingredient.

An event participant samples Wisconsin water from the water bar. Credit: Bonnie Willison, Wisconsin Sea Grant

“People had a good chance to network with each other and taste some appetizers made out of the fish and listen to some speeches,” said Moen. “I was really pleased that Preston Cole was able to join us. He’s the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources in Wisconsin, and then Marlon White Eagle, the president of the Ho-Chunk Nation was able to join us, too. So, it was really great to have dignitaries and scientists and fish producers all mingling together and to hear those conversations.”

Speeches were also offered by Wisconsin Sea Grant Director Jim Hurley; Steve Summerfelt, chief science officer for Superior Fresh, an aquaponics business that raises Atlantic salmon and grows leafy greens in Hixton, Wisconsin; and Charlie Henriksen of Henriksen Fisheries.

Cole outlined current challenges facing water systems in Wisconsin. “There’s a lot of places in the state of Wisconsin that people don’t have surety when they turn on their tap that they’re going to have clean fresh drinking water,” he said. “A lot of the circumstances are lead laterals in some of our older cities. I think there’s probably about 100 communities still in Wisconsin spread all across the state that still have lead laterals. And for children, there is no safe level for lead. We know that emerging contaminants like PFAS [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] in our drinking water do serious harm where we’ve been finding legacy contaminants from firefighting foam.”

Cole also shared some thoughts on a “Taste of Wisconsin Waters.”

“I think this is awesome. For folks in this room tonight, from commercial fishermen, to researchers, to restauranteurs, people who count on that fishing industry, people who count on the research that’s occurring – I met a couple of those researchers this evening – and I think it’s a wonderful way to look forward by relishing how far we’ve come in the past and providing clean water and research around our water systems.”

Summerfelt with Superior Fresh was also impressed by the event. “I’m ecstatic that Sea Grant put this together to recognize how Wisconsin uses water for food and brought in aquaculture. Sea Grant has not only helped educate consumers about eating Wisconsin seafood, which is so good for them because there’s nowhere else you can get omega-3s, which are good for your brain and heart, like you can get it from seafood. And then, Wisconsin Sea Grant has also been instrumental in funding research that’s helped the technology develop that’s used in Superior Fresh.”

Depending on funding, similar events may happen in the future, and they may be open to the public.

Preston Cole. Credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Many of the outcomes will take a while to manifest, but Moen explained that one connection was made right away. “A thousand arctic char from the Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility that is operated through the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point, got homes. One of the fish producers, because he heard about them being available, came and collected them and took them back to his farm for growing out as an experiment. So that was a big plus,” Moen said.

She also said that networking among the event-goers led to site visits to research and education facilities and that she’s received invitations to host similar events in two other Wisconsin communities. Moen and Emma Hauser, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s aquaculture and education outreach specialist, recently met with staff from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to discuss working together to support the food-fish industry. “This happened as a direct result of the Taste of Wisconsin Waters,” Moen said.

The post A Taste of Wisconsin Waters first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/a-taste-of-wisconsin-waters/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-taste-of-wisconsin-waters

Marie Zhuikov

On:
In: aquaculture, Commercial Fishing, Eat Wisconsin Fish, Emma Kraco, fish farming, internships, Sharon Moen, workforce development

Fish are a big part of Emma Kraco’s life. While pursuing her biology degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the recent graduate worked in fish labs in the university’s School of Freshwater Sciences. Those included both a U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory and one run by Professor Dong Fang Deng. Kraco assisted Deng with a study and subsequent publication on the effects of ingested microplastics on yellow perch fingerlings.

This summer, however, finds Kraco out of the lab and on the road as a Wisconsin Sea Grant intern in the Community Engaged Internship program. She’s part of a cohort of 10 interns working on a range of projects, each with a different mentor.

Emma Kraco talks about Wisconsin fish with attendees at Kids’ Fishing Day at the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center in Ashland, Wisconsin. (Photo: Sharon Moen)

Kraco works alongside Eat Wisconsin Fish Outreach Specialist Sharon Moen, who looks for ways to support and enhance Wisconsin’s commercial fishing and fish farming industries, as well as engage with consumers to spark their interest in local fish. So far this summer, the two have traveled to Bayfield, Ashland, Green Bay, Milwaukee and numerous other points. 

Kraco’s responsibilities include refining the interactive map on the Eat Wisconsin Fish website, which helps consumers locate local fish producers, markets and more. She’s also working on a project to tell the story of yellow perch with respect to its past, present and future as an iconic Wisconsin fish fry staple.

“Emma’s knowledge base, curiosity and enthusiasm have been such a boost for the Eat Wisconsin Fish initiative,” said Moen. “I have been so impressed with the way she has interacted with the fish producers we have met with this summer. Her questions have been thoughtful, and her follow-up has been remarkable. On top of this, I really appreciate her patience in learning Online ArcGIS skills to overcome the mapping challenges laid out for her. I have no doubt that she’ll be one to watch as Wisconsin’s aquaculture scene matures.”

We recently caught up with Kraco for a brief Q&A. Here’s what she had to say:

What has been most enlightening to you about this internship?

The people are one of the most interesting things about this internship. From the small-town dynamics of the local fisheries, to the trials and successes of the farms, I have loved hearing their stories. Each operation is as unique as the person running it. Meeting with producers and seeing where they work has given me a new appreciation for how diverse their needs are. For me, this project has highlighted the importance of extension and outreach work and the need for better science communication.

What’s it like to work with Sharon Moen, Eat Wisconsin Fish outreach specialist? She’s a force!

Sharon Moen and Emma Kraco during a stop by the UW-Madison campus in June 2022. (Photo: Jennifer Smith)

Working for Sharon has been a blast! One of the things that makes her so great to work for is her energy and passion for this project. We’ve been lucky enough to travel throughout the state meeting people in the food-fish production industry. On each of the trips, our days have been packed from morning to night with meetings with fishers and farmers.

Sharon knows how to make the most of our time on the road, but she also knows how to play as hard as she works. We’ve been able to see state parks and museums, sample local cuisine and meet many fabulous Sea Grant professionals and scientists along the way. This internship has given me a whole new appreciation for the state of Wisconsin.

Do you have a favorite fish, either to study or to eat?

I love to eat yellow perch—they are a Midwest staple, after all—but I would jump at the opportunity to work more closely with lake sturgeon. They are such a beautiful, ancient fish with a fascinating life cycle and cultural significance in the Great Lakes region.  

What’s next for you after this internship?

I’ll remain in Milwaukee and work full time for the USDA-ARS (U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service) cold and coolwater fish lab located in the School of Freshwater Sciences. I’m also beginning an online master’s program in Geographic Information Systems, and I plan to continue honing my skills in outreach and aquaculture education.

The post Out of the lab and on the road: Meet Emma Kraco, Eat Wisconsin Fish intern first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/meet-emma-kraco/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=meet-emma-kraco

Jennifer Smith

On:
In: aquaculture, Commercial Fishing, Eat Midwest Fish, Eat Wisconsin Fish, Great Lakes Fresh Fish Finder, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Red Cliff Fish Co., Sharon Moen

Spring has sprung in Wisconsin, bringing with it warmer days, longer evenings and the return of farmer’s markets. Our state’s plentiful markets offer not only a chance to buy local goodies—from colorful produce to cheeses, meat, honey and more—but also a way to get acquainted with the hard-working people who produce our food.

Farmers’ markets may also spur us to think about other food-related goals we might have, such as eating more healthfully or supporting local and regional economies.

Three online resources can help you embrace similar food goals when serving fish. Through these websites you can find fish caught by commercial fishers on the Great Lakes and fish raised sustainably by farmers in our region.

Here’s a quick roundup of the three:

Eat Wisconsin Fish:

Sharon Moen showed off her grilling skills during a live webinar hosted by Ohio Sea Grant in summer 2021. Moen prepared fish kabobs using Wisconsin fish.

You could call EatWisconsinFish.org the “OG” of fish-finding resources in the Great Lakes region. An initiative of Wisconsin Sea Grant, the project has been around for years, but new life was breathed into it with the 2020 hire of Outreach Specialist Sharon Moen.

Last summer, the site’s map got a makeover thanks to intern Hunter Goldman, an Ashland College student. The interactive map shows places in Wisconsin where food fish are grown, harvested, processed and more.

This summer, a new intern, Emma Kraco, will assist Moen. Kraco, a recent graduate of UW-Milwaukee, will help Moen improve the map and share the stories of food-fish producers in Wisconsin.

Great Lakes Fresh Fish Finder: In fall 2021, Great Lakes Fresh Fish Finder joined the mix. While it drew inspiration from Eat Wisconsin Fish, its geographic range is broader, as are the intended purposes of the fish.

The Great Lakes Fresh Fish Finder logo shows two fish in a stylized grocery shopping cart.

Attendees can learn more about Great Lakes Fresh Fish Finder at a May 26 webinar.

While Eat Wisconsin Fish focuses on fish for your dinner plate, Great Lakes Fish Finder includes species for pond stocking, bait and ornamental purposes. And as it name suggests, its geographic swath covers all of the Great Lakes states.

Take a tour of Fresh Fish Finder through a webinar at 11:30 a.m. (central) on Thursday, May 26. Called “Finding Fish for Food or Fun: Exploring the Great Lakes Fresh Fish Finder,” the event is hosted by the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative and will spotlight several regional producers, including Wisconsin’s Red Cliff Fish Co., run by the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Bayfield, along Lake Superior. Register for the event here.

Eat Midwest Fish: This site’s map pinpoints farms raising food fish and shellfish in the Upper Midwest. It launched in early 2021 as a joint effort of the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network and other partners, including the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center. Like Eat Wisconsin Fish, the site includes tasty recipe ideas, such as bluegill chowder and oven-fried perch.

With these resources at your fingertips, it’s never been easier to find local fish (unless, perhaps, you catch your own—also a fine choice). Bon appetit!

The post Embrace local eating this season: Three resources for finding Wisconsin and Great Lakes fish first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Jennifer Smith

On:
In: Bonnie Willison, Finding Fish in Wisconsin, Jennifer Smith, Marie Zhuikov, Sharon Moen, The Fish Dish podcast, Titus Seilheimer

The calendar has flipped to 2022. Our staff members are ready to tackle new projects in the coming 12 months, which also happens to mark Sea Grant’s 50th anniversary. Before they move more deeply into this anniversary, however, some staff members took a moment to retain the glow of their favorite 2021 project. Our resident fish and aquaculture maven—Sharon Moen who heads up the Eat Wisconsin Fish initiative—had a swimmingly successful effort to share for our last post in this series.

I dubbed my favorite 2021 effort, “Finding Fish in Wisconsin.” This quest for insights and interviews had me talking with commercial fishers, food-fish farmers and fish processors across the state in four bursts (see map). At different times, Wisconsin Sea Grant colleagues Bonnie Willison, Jennifer Smith, Titus Seilheimer and Marie Zhuikov were there, too.

My goal was to learn about the needs of Wisconsin’s food fish-producing industries and how Wisconsin Sea Grant could support their success, while gathering material to create fish producer profiles so that consumers can better understand who is producing their food and why fish from Wisconsin are safe to eat, a sustainable food choice and economically important.

While the conversations we had with fish producers are guiding Eat Wisconsin Fish activities in 2022, Willison has already turned some of the interviews into short videos that are available on Wisconsin Sea Grant’s YouTube playlist and elsewhere. If you are more into podcasts, Zhuikov wove interview excerpts into episodes of The Fish Dish, a new Wisconsin Sea Grant podcast.

This map, adapted from the Eat Wisconsin Fish website, shows Moen’s travels for the Finding Fish in Wisconsin effort. #1: Finding fish in Bayfield County (June) focused on Lake Superior commercial fisheries and processors. #2: Finding fish across the diagonal (July) spanned visits to farms raising shrimp, salmon, trout, yellow perch and more. #3: Finding fish near Sheboygan (August) was inspired by a tilapia farm and broadened to include visits with trout farmers, a fish smoking business and a commercial fisher. #4: Finding fish around Door County (November) included insights into the international fish roe trade and commercial fishing in Green Bay and Lake Michigan.

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Wisconsin Sea Grant

On:
In: aquaponics, Eat Wisconsin Fish, feed conversion ratio, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, sea lamprey, Sharon Moen

By Eva Ryan, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Continuing Wisconsin Sea Grant’s 50th anniversary blog series, I interviewed Sharon Moen, the Eat Wisconsin Fish outreach specialist. During our time together, we discussed the past, present and hopes for the future of producing fish in Wisconsin for local and global consumption.

Sharon Moen holds smoked fish on the shores of Lake Superior. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

“I’m having fun with the position because I get to use my science communication skills to help American food-fish aquaculture and fisheries succeed against a challenging and changing global backdrop,” Moen said. “It feels like meaningful, important work.”

Moen’s work largely focuses on supporting food-fish aquaculture and fisheries in Wisconsin, which includes improving consumer awareness and acceptance. She explores topics of fish production, consumer demographics and how to connect local fish growers with people throughout the state.

Moen reports that commercial fishers were hampered by labor shortages last year and would like help navigating changes to state regulations. Her conversations with Wisconsin’s growing aquaculture industry indicate they could use technical help in the form of research on specific topics, finding fish processors and marketing.

“So many good things have happened in the last 50 years,” said Moen, starting with the commercial fishing industry of the Great Lakes: “The state’s commercial fishing industry was almost wiped out because of the invasion of sea lamprey, overfishing and changes to the ecosystem.” But due to progressive sustainable fishery management decisions, the fisheries have recovered, maintaining opportunities for people to make a living from plying the Great Lakes for food.

“It’s interesting to see how the industry has changed and how generational fishing families have held on and retained optimism. This is most evident in the way that, during the worst of the pandemic in 2020, the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa opened a fish processing and marketing business to help their members. It is encouraging to witness how the Great Lakes can still provide food and livelihoods for people.”

Similar to Great Lakes fisheries, the Wisconsin aquaculture industry has experienced many advances in the past 50 years. “We grow shrimp on old dairy farms now,” Moen said. “The largest on-land aquaponic facility for salmon is in Hixton, Wisconsin. Fifty years ago, people would think you were crazy if you said we were going to grow salmon on land and shrimp in old barns.” Moen goes on to applaud the innovation of aquaculture specialists, noting how exciting it is to observe the industry changing.

As industries continue to change, it only makes sense to look forward. When asked about the future of food fish production in Wisconsin, Moen was sure to touch on climate change and aquaculture’s role in improving food security and environmental resilience in the next 50 years.

“Already about half of the seafood Americans consume is raised on farms,” she said. “These farms could be, and maybe should be, down the road instead of halfway across the planet.”

The meat industry is a known contributor to carbon emissions and Earth’s changing climate. Moen specifically mentioned the feed conversion ratio of cows, pigs, and chickens. Compared to these animals, the feed conversion ratio of fish is significantly lower, effectively saving resources while providing an impressive yield of protein and essential nutrients for brain development in children and heart health.

“I think fish are going to be one of our most important sources of protein in the near future, especially as we get better at growing them in contained facilities. As people coming to terms with technology, where their seafood comes from and climate change, these changes have to happen.”

Further research on the food sources we use for feeding fish are being conducted each day. For example, scientists are trying to determine how we can grow algae containing omega-3 fatty acids and other beneficial nutrients to feed fish. That way, when we eat the fish that consume these algae, we also reap the benefits of those nutrients. All in all, the advancements taking place in the aquaculture industry are bountiful and exciting.

Considering the human health and environmental benefits of being a piscivore, Moen summed it up best when she said, “Eat fish, people!”

The post Eat Fish, People! first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Wisconsin Sea Grant

On:
In: Craig Hoopman, Greek-Style Lake Whitefish, Marie Zhuikov, Sharon Moen, The Fish Dish podcast, Woodblind

 

Sharon displays the Greek-Style Lake Whitefish, sizzling in the pan. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

For the latest “dish” about Great Lakes fish, you’ll want to listen to “The Fish Dish.” The podcast, co-hosted by longtime coworkers and friends Sharon Moen and Marie Zhuikov, introduces you to the people behind Wisconsin’s fishing and aquaculture industries. Each episode includes a “Fish-o-licious” section where Moen and Zhuikov cook a new fish recipe.

The first episode features Craig Hoopman, a sixth-generation commercial fisherman from Bayfield, Wisconsin. Hoopman shares his beginnings in the business, current challenges, plus his dreams for the future. Also, Eat Wisconsin Fish Outreach Specialist Moen and Science Communicator Zhuikov share their backgrounds in fishing and introduce listeners to the Eat Wisconsin Fish campaign. During the “Fish-o-licious” part of the show, they cook Greek-Style Lake Whitefish at Hoopman’s recommendation.

Tying it all together is ska music by Twin Ports band, Woodblind.

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Marie Zhuikov

On:
In: Eat Wisconsin Fish, fish and methamphetamines, Seafood Awareness Month, Sharon Moen, zombie fish

Image courtesy of DepositPhotos

October. In this month of Halloween, thoughts might turn toward ghosts, vampires and skeletons. Zombies, too. October is also Seafood Awareness Month. Now, please allow me to draw the connection between zombies and fish.

Zombies are known for rampaging through communities in search of their favorite meal — brains. Ever wonder what they do in their downtime? Netflix? Knitting? What about fishing? Maybe zombies spend a relaxing afternoon on the lake, dropping a line. If they hook a legally sized fish, they might tuck into its brains. In doing so, the zombies could be swallowing something that could make their living-dead condition worse — methamphetamine.

A story on CNN last summer about trout becoming addicted to methamphetamine prompted a concerned question to our Eat Wisconsin Fish Specialist Sharon Moen. Treatment systems remove all kinds of bad stuff from water, but drugs can sometimes escape that ministration.

Wanting to reassure that questioner looking to enjoy local, healthy and delicious Wisconsin fish, but worried about inadvertent drug consumption, Moen checked with our fisheries specialist as well as our emerging contaminant scientist. Both said if a person avoided eating the brains and liver of fish — where contaminants and, apparently drugs, accumulate — there was no danger.

That’s good news for someone wanting a plate full of yummy fish. Try these recipes using Wisconsin fish. And keep those seafood questions coming to Moen. She’d love to talk with you, maybe even about zombies.

The post Try Wisconsin fish recipes. Not you, though, zombies first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Moira Harrington

On:
In: apprenticeships, aquaculture, Commercial Fishing, COVID-19, Eat Wisconsin Fish, fish farming, pandemic, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Red Cliff Fish Co., seafood, Sharon Moen, Titus Seilheimer, tribal fishing, workforce development

Three grants totaling more than $334,000 were awarded to Wisconsin Sea Grant to support the state’s commercial fishing and aquaculture industries, particularly in the areas of career development and resilience planning.

Sharon Moen, Eat Wisconsin Fish outreach specialist. (Photo: Marie Zhuikov)

Recently, NOAA Sea Grant announced federal funding to aid the sustainable growth of the U.S. seafood industry. One of the efforts focuses on the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on seafood resources. Wisconsin Sea Grant has been awarded $186,000 in funding through that competition, meant to increase the resilience of the seafood sector to respond to future disruptions. The project has a two-year time span and was one of 13 awarded nationally by NOAA Sea Grant. Sharon Moen, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Eat Wisconsin Fish outreach specialist, is the project lead.

A second recently announced grant of $98,000 was awarded through NOAA Sea Grant and NOAA Office of Sustainable Fisheries (more specifically, through the “Food from the Sea” Careers Program).

The work funded by this grant enables the Michigan and Wisconsin Sea Grant programs to collaborate on building the framework for a Great Lakes commercial fisheries apprenticeship program over the next six months. Project leads for this effort are Titus Seilheimer, Wisconsin Sea Grant fisheries specialist, and Lauren Jescovitch, a Michigan Sea Grant extension educator in the Upper Peninsula. Moen will also be a key player. Together, the team will assess apprenticeship program needs among both tribal and nontribal fishers. The implementation phase of the apprenticeship program will be funded by the two-year grant.

Titus Seilheimer, fisheries outreach specialist.

A third grant of $50,000 enables the Eat Wisconsin Fish initiative to continue to grow its outreach potential over the next year. Moen leads this project.

“It is exciting that NOAA Sea Grant selected these three Wisconsin proposals for funding,” said Moen. “Food fish—both wild-caught and farm-raised in the U.S.—is an important part of our economy and food security. This funding will enable us to build on our efforts to help commercial fishers and fish farmers thrive in a challenging environment.”

The commercial fishing side of the projects focuses on developing the Great Lakes region’s first-ever apprenticeship program in fishing and fish processing. “Commercial fisheries across the country are graying as the older generation gets older, but who will take the wheel to keep these fisheries going?” said Seilheimer.

Continued Seilheimer, “Our work will build the framework for an apprenticeship program to train the next generation of commercial fishers. We will learn from tribal and state fishers about the needs and wants for a new training program. We hope to build an apprenticeship program that will provide an experienced workforce for tribal and commercial fisheries for years to come to support sustainable Great Lakes fisheries.”

Clarence Pratt of the Red Cliff Fish Co. shows a vacuum-sealed package of lake trout from Lake Superior that has just been processed. (Photo: Bonnie Willison)

While the pandemic has been tough all-around, noted Moen, “It has had a disproportionate impact on Indigenous commercial fishers.” One partner in this project is the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which operates the Red Cliff Fish Co. The fish market prioritizes local retail sales and supplying Lake Superior fish to Native American elders.

While other states have apprenticeship programs focused on commercial fishing and fish processing, Moen said this one will focus on needs specific to the Great Lakes.

The aquaculture side of the projects will include efforts to inform fish consumers and the general public about fish-farming methods.

“Aquaculture in the U.S. has come a long way in the last several decades, and public perceptions have not kept up with reality,” said Moen. “Regulations in the U.S. as a whole are quite strict, and even more so here in Wisconsin, which should give consumers confidence that they’re choosing a safe product that has been raised responsibly. It pays to check labels or ask at the fish counter when you’re shopping.”

Moen and Seilheimer will carry out the funded activities along with members of Sea Grant’s science communication and education teams.

At their core, the three grant-funded projects are responding to challenges faced by Wisconsin fish farms and commercial fishers, from pandemics to workforce issues. “In the end,” said Moen, “We want to create a stronger food network and food systems so that when future disruptions happen, we’ll be better prepared.”

Those interested in learning more about these projects may contact Sharon Moen or Titus Seilheimer.

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Jennifer Smith

On:
In: Community Engaged Internship, cooking, Eat Wisconsin Fish, Hunter Goldman, internships, seafood, Sharon Moen

Every year, summer seems to go by in a flash—and, with it, Sea Grant’s summer internships. If you follow the news section of our website, you know that we have seven creative and capable interns this year, each working on a different project with a different mentor.

We caught up with one of those interns, Hunter Goldman, recently to see how things are going with Hunter’s work on the “Eat Wisconsin Fish” project under the guidance of Outreach Specialist Sharon Moen. Below are some excerpts from our conversation.

Wisconsin Sea Grant intern Hunter Goldman at Lake Superior (Submitted photo)

Major: Sustainable Community Development

College: Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin

Hometown: Marietta, Georgia

So, how did a vegetarian end up helping with Eat Wisconsin Fish?

I e-mailed back and forth with Sharon, and she knew that I love cooking and have GIS experience. I also looked at the Eat Wisconsin Fish website to connect my interests to the mission of EWF. One of its goals is to cater to a wide audience, and I felt I was up for that challenge.

I also mentioned to Sharon some sauces I had made recently, and that’s part of how this came to be: our “get saucy with Sea Grant” theme this summer, with my making recipes on Facebook Live.

How have the weekly Facebook Live cooking events been going? It’s been fun watching you in your home kitchen.

It took a little getting used to, but I’m more comfortable behind the camera than presenting for a large audience face-to-face, so it’s easier for me to project myself over Facebook Live.

You’re using your GIS (geographic information systems) background to help with updates to the map on the Eat Wisconsin Fish website. What can we look forward to when this is complete?

The updated map will be really in-depth and easily filtered. It will be an upgrade to what’s currently there.

What I have planned is we’re going to have multiple layers, so you can easily select what you’re looking for, such as fishers, markets, academic or research facilities and so forth. For each producer, you’ll be able to easily see their location, address, a description, links to social media, a phone number and that sort of information.

Eat Wisconsin Fish is all about finding and enjoying fish that is sustainably caught or farmed in our state. That’s a nice fit with your major in sustainable community development. What draws you to this field?

I’ve always had a passion for the environment. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with how the Earth works and how humans impact it. Long-term, I’d like to implement geography and GIS and do urban planning that is focused on sustainability.

We heard that you’re intrigued by Iceland and would love to work there someday! Tell us more.

As a country, Iceland is really focused on sustainability; they’re huge leaders in that field, with geothermal power and an emphasis on sustainable energy. Another aspect I like is Iceland’s emphasis on social justice and equality. Iceland has amazing things going on for the LGBT community, which I’m a member of.

I also have an odd fascination with puffins! Iceland has the largest puffin population in the world, with about 60% of the world’s Atlantic puffins.

In Wisconsin, we have to make the most of summer. It goes too fast! What’s your go-to dish this time of year that would pair well with Wisconsin fish?

My family has a great recipe for gazpacho. If you let it sit in the fridge for a bit, those flavors of tomato, lemon, onion and garlic really come together. It’s refreshing and very light.

You could serve this with a simple fish recipe, like the Fish Fillets with Lime from the Eat Wisconsin Fish website, using whitefish or whatever you like best. It would be a good choice for a hot summer day!

The post Summer intern spotlight: Hunter Goldman and Eat Wisconsin Fish first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Jennifer Smith

On:
In: aquaculture, cooking, Eat Wisconsin Fish, food preparation, food safety, GLAC, Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, grilling, Sharon Moen

I’ve always been a fish fan. Though I didn’t grow up in Wisconsin, both of my parents hailed from the Badger State, so the fish-fry culture is in my blood. Of course, there’s a lot more to eating fish than deep frying it, which is why I hopped on to a recent live webinar offered by the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative—of which Wisconsin Sea Grant is a part—and hosted by Ohio Sea Grant.

“Fish to Fork: Grilling in the Great Lakes” featured my colleague here at Wisconsin Sea Grant, Sharon Moen, as well as two Sea Grant-ers from my home state of Michigan, Lauren Jescovitch and Elliot Nelson. Sharon runs our Eat Wisconsin Fish initiative, working with fish farmers, commercial fishers and consumers.

Shrimp and veggie kabobs ready for the grill.

Sharon, Lauren and Elliot put on a lively session via Zoom, with Lauren and Elliot beaming in from their kitchens in Michigan’s U.P., and Sharon from her tree-lined deck in the Twin Ports area (Duluth/Superior).

While I encourage you to watch the recording yourself to pick up some fish tips, I thought I’d blog some of my impressions and takeaways from these three experts.

When possible, they said, it’s great to get your fish directly from local producers, such as a fish farmer in your area or commercial fishers. That way, you know your product is very fresh and you can ask questions about how it was raised or caught. And because these products (whether farmed or wild-caught) are highly regulated in the U.S., you can feel confident you’re getting a safe product.

If you can’t buy direct from a producer or at a specialty fish market, you’re probably picking up your fish at a large grocery store or big-box store. Labels are your friend! Elliot, an extension educator covering Michigan’s eastern U.P., suggests finding out where the fish or seafood came from. You might be surprised to find some local or regional choices.

Also, noted Elliot, don’t assume that the fresh fish counter is automatically superior to the freezer section. Sometimes “fresh” fish at the counter can be past its prime. Avoid mushy textures, strong fishy odors or things that look opaque or cloudy.

In the frozen section, you don’t want to see ice on the outside of the bag or on freezer shelves, but ice inside the bag is fine. Vacuum-sealed products are also a good way to go.

Lauren, an extension educator covering the western U.P., preceded Elliot with an impressive—and only slightly gory—demonstration of how to gut and fillet whole fish.

Lauren recommended gutting smaller fish, leaving them more or less intact, then placing seasonings inside before cooking. She used fish from the Watersmeet Trout Hatchery, as well as a local maple barbecue seasoning rub. For larger fish, she recommended filleting.

Impressively, during the live hour on Zoom, she cooked her clean, gutted trout on an indoor grill and then showed the removal of skin and pin bones before eating. While I know she’s had plenty of practice, it looked very do-able!

Sharon Moen makes a fish kabob during a live webinar hosted by Ohio Sea Grant.

While Elliott focused on food selection and safety, and Lauren showcased her knife skills, Sharon assembled a colorful, healthy kabob for an outdoor grill, using a combo of shrimp, catfish, trout and vegetables. She showed off her finished product at the end of the hour, which looked to have just the right amount of char on the veggies.

I’ll be sure to invite myself over to Sharon’s next time I’m in the Twin Ports—both the skewers and her deck looked fabulous on a summer’s day. Add a glass of wine, and that’s my idea of a perfect summer lunch or dinner!

You can find Sharon’s kabob recipe, Fishes on Sticks, on the Eat Wisconsin Fish website. And to hear more from Sharon, check out her June 19 appearance on the Buckeye Sportsman radio show, when she chatted with host Dan Armitage about grilling fish and more (Sharon’s segment runs from 14:15-30:38 on the recording).

As Elliot said near the end of the hour, there’s “a bounty of flavors when it comes to seafood,” and preparation doesn’t have to be complex. If you watch the archived webinar from this trio of fish experts, I’m sure you’ll agree.

In the meantime, here are some Sea Grant-supported web resources that that can help you find producers, specialty fish markets, recipes, health info and more:

Eat Wisconsin Fish

Eat Midwest Fish

Seafood Health Facts

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Jennifer Smith

On:
In: cooking, Eat Wisconsin Fish, farmed fish, fish farmers, food preparation, food safety, GLAC, Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, grilling, Sharon Moen

Whether you’re loyal to charcoal or have a gas grill with all the bells and whistles, summer means grilling in Wisconsin. An online event involving Wisconsin Sea Grant will help people make the most of grilling fish from the Great Lakes region.

Eat Wisconsin Fish Outreach Specialist Sharon Moen. (Photo: Marie Zhuikov)

“Fish to Fork: Grilling in the Great Lakes” will take place Wednesday, June 23, at noon central time. The one-hour event will include Sharon Moen of Wisconsin Sea Grant’s “Eat Wisconsin Fish” project. She will talk about proper seafood preparation and grilling techniques, as well as what to do with your leftovers.

Participants may register for this free, online event on Ohio Sea Grant’s website. Please note that the registration page lists Eastern time; the event begins at noon Wisconsin time.

“While people love burgers and brats on the grill, it’s fun to switch it up and offer your guests a fish or seafood skewer with colorful veggies. Kabobs are great for family gatherings since you can make individual ones to suit people’s tastes,” said Moen.

Moen will be joined by Sea Grant colleagues from a neighboring state: Lauren Jescovitch and Elliot Nelson of Michigan Sea Grant. Jescovitch will talk about food safety considerations when selecting your seafood, and Nelson will cover food safety at home.

Shrimp and veggie kabobs ready for the grill.

The event will focus on seafood raised sustainably in the Midwest through aquaculture. Featured species are shrimp, rainbow trout and catfish.

Moen, who is based in Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Lake Superior Field Office, works with Wisconsin’s commercial fishers, fish farmers and fish consumers.

An earlier webinar from the same series on cooking Great Lakes fish is now available for viewing on YouTube. That April webinar featured Wisconsin Sea Grant Fisheries Specialist Titus Seilheimer and Peter Fritsch, president of Wisconsin’s Rushing Waters Fisheries. View “Fish to Fork: Cooking Great Lakes Fish” here.

The June 23 event is hosted by the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative, of which Wisconsin Sea Grant is a part, and Ohio Sea Grant. The National Sea Grant College Program is a federal-state-university partnership with 34 programs across the nation, including in each of the Great Lakes states. These science-based programs are centered on research, education and outreach to foster the sustainable use and care of Great Lakes resources.

For questions about this event, contact Moen at smoen@aqua.wisc.edu.

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Jennifer Smith

On:
In: Eat Wisconsin Fish, Sharon Moen

Sharon Moen. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

As 2020 winds down, we asked staff members at Wisconsin Sea Grant what their favorite project was this year. Although work was a bit more challenging than usual due to our altered work circumstances, everyone managed to stay productive, and even find fulfillment. Although Sharon Moen, our Eat Wisconsin Fish outreach specialist, hasn’t been working here that long, she wanted to contribute to this blog series.

Sharon said, “I dissected the Eat Wisconsin Fish initiative soon after I was hired to manage it in November. Laying the innards out on the metaphorical table and studying their functions informed strategies for working with commercial fishers, fish farmers and the public in 2021. Eat Wisconsin Fish activities support food security, economic and environmental health, and the overall well-being of the people of Wisconsin.”

To learn more about the initiative and Sharon’s work, visit https://eatwisconsinfish.org/.

 

The post Sea Grant staff project faves, Sharon Moen first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Marie Zhuikov

On:
In: aquaculture, COVID-19, Eat Wisconsin Fish, pandemic, Sharon Moen

Just as she regularly wrestles 50-pound boxes of clay into her studio to shape into vessels adorned with symbols of nature as part of her artistry-turned-business, Sharon Moen—as the newest member of Wisconsin Sea Grant—has some molding to do in her role as outreach specialist focused on the Eat Wisconsin Fish initiative.

Moen will be fashioning the parts of the existing initiative into new forms. She’ll fire them into rejuvenated and brand-new tools to serve commercial fishermen, charter fishermen, processors and aquaculture operators, as well as educating consumers, retailers and those in the culinary world about the benefits of local, healthy and delicious Wisconsin fish.

This is all, of course, to be done against the backdrop of a once-in-lifetime pandemic that is affecting businesses of all types—particularly hitting hard those tied to the fish supply chain—and reaching into family homes where people are making food decisions in a disrupted world.

A Washington Post story from late spring noted that with restaurants closed the nation’s fisheries, across all regions and species, have reported sales slumps as high as 95 percent. Some species are considered more luxury choices and with the economic hit from Covid-19 perhaps grocery budgets aren’t putting fish on the household menu. Americans spend more than twice as much on seafood in restaurants than they do at home.

Into this scenario steps Moen, who may be new to Wisconsin Sea Grant but is far from being new to serving Sea Grant stakeholder needs and immersing herself in Great Lakes issues having spent 21 years with Minnesota Sea Grant. She was the program’s senior science communicator prior to her departure from that program in April of this year.

“It’s an honor to be a public servant again,” said Moen. “The pandemic has revealed many things about the U.S., including how easily our food systems can be disrupted. I’m ready to channel creativity and moxie toward helping people value Wisconsin’s commercial fisheries and fish-producing operations in ways that support jobs, the state’s food independence, the environment and human health. I’m excited to be joining a great team of Sea Grant’s staff and researchers on this important project.”

Moen will tackle a needs assessment of various sectors to inform a strategic plan on how to best proceed to address challenges, perhaps through webinars, one-on-one communication social media and/or the Eat Wisconsin Fish website. She’ll rely on some previously funded Sea Grant research on fish farmers, as well as another on consumer perception on aquaculture.

“We are really excited about all the relevant experience that Sharon brings to Wisconsin Sea Grant. She has worked on past successful outreach and communications campaigns to promote farm-raised and wild-caught fish, including chef competitions and public tastings,” Sea Grant Assistant Director for Extension David Hart said. “Sharon is a gifted writer and contributed to a strategic plan for aquaculture in Minnesota. She has extensive connections throughout the Sea Grant network and will be able to hit the ground running.”

About that pottery, in her off hours, Moen will continue to create objects of utility and beauty, as well as embracing macro projects. She is currently making 140 specialty tiles for a kachelofen, a German masonry stove that will heat a vacation home on one of Wisconsin’s many lakes. This proves, once more, Moen’s skill at merging two careers and two passions from the clay of the Earth and the wonders of water.

The post Meet Sharon Moen, new Eat Wisconsin Fish outreach specialist first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/meet-sharon-moen-new-eat-wisconsin-fish-outreach-specialist/

Moira Harrington