And so it began

I first learned about aquaponics during the 2009 Cape Land and Sea Harvest local food festival on Cape Cod, MA. In celebration of all things local and delicious, the weekend includes tours of farms, and I was intrigued to see the unique description of an aquaponic farm in the event listings. Their description of the closed-loop growing system sounded astoundingly logical, and it immediately appealed to my interest in sustainability and food production.

As a recent college grad, I hadn’t yet decided in which part of the broad field of environmentalism I would like to specialize. After a tour of E&T Farms, however, I was inspired and I came away with a desire to pursue aquaponics as a career. Now, I never envisioned myself a traditional farmer - the economics are brutal - but many aspects of it did appeal to me, like working with plants, being outside, and managing a small business. Aquaponics suddenly offered a more attractive, viable method for me to farm, and its environmental benefits sweetened the deal.

When I think about a commercial aquaponics operation, I see it as an opportunity for me to produce enough food to have a measurable positive impact on my local environment and food system; to do challenging, hands-on work that utilizes my creativity; and to farm close to markets without a need for expensive tracts of land and food transport.

Of course, to make any of this a reality, I need capital and experience. So that’s what I’ve set out to do, with a solid job in the energy efficiency industry and a hobby level aquaponics setup. As I gain experience and learn more about the opportunities and challenges of commercial operations, Im mindful to re-evaluate whether it is still right for me.

So I invite you to join me on my journey and to share your thoughts and ideas. By documenting my work, I hope to provide valuable insights to readers and to learn from you as well.

Moratorium on Aquaculture Licenses in British Columbia Will it lead to Benefits

An article in the Vancouver Sun Jan 28, 2010 states that B.C. has slapped a moratorium on issuing new finfish aquaculture licences and wont accept new applications for shellfish aquaculture, the province announced Thursday.

The move follows a court decision on Tuesday in which the B.C. Supreme Court granted an extension to the transfer deadline for finfish aquaculture to federal regulation until Dec. 18, 2010. As part of this extension, the court ordered a suspension on approvals of all new marine finfish licenses in B.C.

Full Story Link

A related story by Mike Barber of Canwest news service Sept 9 , 2010 titled "Diversity needed on Canadas fish farms, researcher says"

Talks about the Need for Canada to diversify into production of alternative aquaculture species. That article points out that half the fish the world eats is now raised on farms, presenting an opportunity for Canada to exploit a growing global hunger for seafood, according to a study published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a team of international researchers.

But critics say Canada is ill-prepared to cash in on the growing trend because of a fixation on farming salmon -- a species that is expensive to raise, takes a long time to grow and is not to the taste of people in the worlds rapidly developing markets.

Tony Farrell, one of the reports contributors, said the findings indicate a demand for protein-rich, affordable fish.

"The world is not eating wild fish, and theyre switching to cultured fish," said Farrell, chairman of the University of B.C.s Centre for Aquaculture and Environmental Research. "Canada can either move with the times, or not. As an exporting nation, we need to make decisions about this."

But relying on salmon -- carnivores that take more than two years to mature -- as the countrys chief farmed fish would likely prevent the Canadian aquaculture industry from harnessing the continued growth, said Farrell.

"I think diversification is a great way of thinking about this. You put all your stocks and bonds in one thing, and when it crashes, youll have a rude awakening," Farrell said. Full Story

This blog has always promoted alternative aquaculture systems and the need for further development of other species. While there are many issues effecting the industry two of the main concerns are the potential for environmental conflicts and the need to address sustainable industry growth.

Diversification into alternative farm designs producing other species using sustainable and intregrated methods, is certainly an area that needs attention.

Realted Items: Land based Fish Farms | Aquaponics Technologies

When it Rains it Pours

It is going to happen, no matter where your survival garden is located, it is going to rain one day.

Rain can mess with your pH and increase the water levels. If you are on a flood and drain set up, you should plan for this.

Look what happened after it rained one day.


The water got cloudy.  Even though the fish we were using as test subjects were just feeder goldfish, we felt sorry for them and exchanged some of the water.  If you do this in an attempt to stabilize the pH without chemical intervention, dont swap out more than 1/3 of the water because you dont want to loose too many of the fish poo nutrients from the water.

The big lesson learned here is to have an overflow mechanism so that if the water level raises too high, it automatically drains out of the system.  No matter where your survival garden is located, this is just a good practice.

And speaking of practice, look how well our practice green onions are going.  You will notice that we added rosemary to the bed as a test to. See how plants that normally like to be dry will respond to an aquaponics system.