Aquaculture 2022

February 28 - March 4, 2022

San Diego, California

COASTAL INTEGRATED MULTI-TROPHIC AQUACULTURE OF STEELHEAD TROUT, BLUE MUSSELS, AND SUGAR KELP ON A FLOATING PLATFORM

Michael Chambers1, Rob Swift2, Arron Jones1, Erich Berghahn1, Gunnar Ek3, Corey Sullivan4, Igor Tsukrov2 and Ward Byrne5

 

1 School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, The University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824 USA

2 College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, The University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824 USA

3 Ek PR, Kittery, ME 03854 USA

4 Innovasea, 266 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210

5 55 Rowell Road E, Brentwood, NH 03833 USA

 



 Recent decline of New Hampshire’s iconic groundfish industry has created hardships for local fishermen. The few fishermen that remain are currently contemplating alternative sources of income through shellfish aquaculture, seaweed farming or integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). Funded by NOAA Sea Grant, the University of New Hampshire has been developing IMTA approaches for Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), and Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissimi). The benefit of this culture method is the lower trophic shellfish and seaweed species bio-extract nutrients generated from the fish to reduce Nitrogen input to the environment. They also provide extra income to the farmer and better utilize the 3D farming space of a permitted site. A new winter growout model was demonstrated in 2021 with trout survival of 95%, FCR of 1.2:1 and growth from 150g to 1.85kg in 7 months.  Economics of the system are underway and will become available to help fishermen and entrepreneurs adopt this new technology in the Gulf of Maine.