ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL LIMITED RESOURCE FARMERS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: EVANS-ALLEN
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0231150
• Project No.: KYX-80-12-21A
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2012
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2016

Project Director
Tidwell, JA.

Recipient Organization
KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
FRANKFORT,KY 40601

Performing Department
Aquaculture

Non Technical Summary
Aquaculture continues to supply more than half of the food fish consumed in the world with estimated 40 million metric tons required in the next 20 years just to maintain current consumption levels. Therefore, aquaculture is the only option in providing these products. However, imports of cheaper fish products have been increasing into the US markets partly because of higher costs of domestic fish production. Capital expenditures for land, ponds and tanks or other facilities are some of the reasons for the higher costs in the US and directly affect the overall market prices for food fish. Novel, cost-saving sustainable practices need to be investigated and incorporated to remain competitive. Using existing bodies of water and reuse of decommissioned wastewater treatment plants located next to newly built reclaimed water plants could be optional commercial operations in rural communities. Scientists must develop aquacultural practices that are sustainable for maintaining profitability, using non-renewable resources efficiently, supplying food needs, enhancing renewable resources and improving quality of rural life. The goal of this project is to develop reliable sustainable systems to produce stocker fishes and food products that are consumer safe in rural communities to create jobs and to generate revenue for their economies.

Animal Health Component

0%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

10%

Applied

90%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
111	3719	1060	10%
111	3719	3010	10%
307	0320	1060	10%
307	0320	3010	10%
307	0810	1060	10%
307	0810	3010	10%
601	0810	3010	20%
711	0810	1060	20%

Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 711 - Ensure Food Products Free of Harmful Chemicals, Including Residues from Agricultural and Other Sources; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water; 307 - Animal Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
0810 - Finfish; 0320 - Watersheds; 3719 - Other cultured finfish;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems); 3010 - Economics;

Keywords

reuse technology

sustainable aquaculture

bioacumulation

reservoir ranching

bioeconomics

water supply lakes

caviar

paddlefish

hybrid striped bass

hybrid catfish

reclaimed water

wastewater treatment

Goals / Objectives
Imports of cheaper fish products have been increasing into the US partly because of higher costs of domestic fish production. Capital expenditures for land, ponds and tanks or other facilities are some of the reasons for the higher costs in the US and directly affect the overall market prices for food fish. Novel, cost-saving and sustainable practices need to be incorporated to remain competitive. Reuse of existing facilities that can be retrofitted for aquaculture, such as decommissioned wastewater treatment plants, or use of existing water such as water supply lakes could be options. The goal of this project is to develop reliable sustainable systems to produce stocker fishes and food products that are consumer safe in rural communities, to create jobs and to generate revenue for their economies. The specific objectives are: 1) evaluate fingerling fish (i.e. hybrid catfish, hybrid striped bass and paddlefish) fed live foods and/or prepared diets cultured in dechlorinated tap water (drinking water) and reclaimed water; 2) biomonitor fish tissues for contaminants cultured in watershed and reclaimed water sources; 3) evaluate mature paddlefish harvested from water supply lakes for their roe and meat quality and food safety; and, 4) develop bioeconomic models that evaluate the production possibilities and costs associated with decommissioned wastewater facilities and water supply lakes. Project results will be disseminated through referred manuscript, lay articles, television, video, internet outlets and meeting presentations. This project is relevant to the goals of United States Department of Agriculture and Kentucky State University College of Agriculture, Food Science and Sustainable Systems in their attempts to improve efficiency and profitability of farms, diversify crops, use high value species to improve financial situation and quality of life for rural communities and their economies in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the United States.

Project Methods
This project will use standard scientific methods to analyze and evaluate the results and provide: 1) technological information for using decommissioned wastewater facilities and identifying commercially viable species of fishes for an aquaculture enterprise which will have direct application for sustainable aquaculture production in the region and the nation; 2) information to verify the safety of the fish for the health of the consumer by evaluating the tissue for heavy metals and pesticides; 3) information for assisting municipalities and limited resource farmers in sustainable aquaculture. This research involves many specific sub-disciplines that require the interaction with a "cluster" of KSU researchers and other scientists in the U.S. This collaboration can also help in the training of undergraduate and graduate students. Further, the cluster will provide workshops for the public and educate them in the usefulness of sustainable aquaculture practices (i.e. reservoir ranching) and reuse technology (i.e. use of decommissioned wastewater treatment facilities) to produce consumer-safe food products. Scientific reporting of the project activities will be made quarterly to the university administration and to collaborators. Regular discussions will be held with individuals involved in the project to facilitate progress of the project. Maximum efforts will be made to overcome any unforeseen difficulties as soon as possible. Students will be closely supervised and trained in all procedures used in the project. Manuscripts will be published in referred journals, professional magazines, and layman articles. Presentations will be given at local, regional and national meetings

Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project report includes fish farmers and other individuals including farmers with interest in aquaculture and also the broader scientific community with an interest in aquaculture. This research offered hands-on learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students associated with Kentucky State University (KSU) including racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socially, economically or educationally disadvantaged through KSU's many outreach and apprenticeship programs. Changes/Problems:The original PI on the project retired and the project has been terminated. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A stakeholder continues to produce fish in the facility and discusses the opportunities that exist to reuse decommissioned wastewater treatment plants for fish production with those in the public. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The original PI on the project retired and the project has been terminated.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Hybrid striped bass had been grown in eight repurposed concrete tanks at the Strode's Creek waste water treatment plant (WWTP) in Winchester, Kentucky. Half of the tanks received UV treated water from the operating portion of the plant on a Report Date flow-through basis. The other half of the tanks received the same UV-treated water, but it was treated with ozone in addition to UV prior to entering the tanks. Fish tissue and feed were analyzed for a suite of metals, and were found, in most cases, that the concentration of metals actually decreased as the fish grew. All experiments have been terminated and the facility cleaned and equipment returned to the KSU campus if it was no longer needed by KSU stakeholder cooperators on site.

Publications

Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project report includes fish farmers and other individuals including farmers with interest in aquaculture and also the broader scientific community with an interest in aquaculture. This research offered hands-on learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students associated with Kentucky State University (KSU) including racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socially, economically or educationally disadvantaged through KSU's many outreach and apprenticeship programs. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A graduate student completed a Master's thesis titled "Evaluating Direct Markets for Submarket-Sized Paddlefish (Polyodon Spathula) in Kentucky." The fish for this thesis research had been grown at the Strode's Creek WWTP. One undergraduate student worked on this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project is basically completed and we will be terminating the project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Hybrid striped bass were grown in eight repurposed concrete tanks at the Strode's Creek waste water treatment plant (WWTP) in Winchester, Kentucky. Half of the tanks received UV treated water from the operating portion of the plant on a flow-through basis. The other half of the tanks received the same UV-treated water, but it was treated with ozone in addition to UV prior to entering the tanks. After growing the bass in these tanks for approximately one year, they were transferred to cages in a repurposed waste water lagoon. This lagoon had previously been used as an oxidation lagoon for primary waste treatment, and had been dredged, drained, and refilled with UV treated water. Fish were placed in 12 cages suspended by a floating dock in the lagoon. They were grown in the cages for approximately 6 months, then harvested. Tissue and feed samples were sent to the University of Arizona's Analytical Lab for Emerging Contaminants where they were analyzed for a suite of metals. We found that in most cases the concentration of metals actually decreased as the fish grew, indicating that perhaps the larval and fingerling diets were substantial contributors to metals concentration in tissues.

Publications

• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Philipchik, A.P. 2015. Evaluating Direct Markets for Submarket-Sized Paddlefish (Polyodon Spathula) in Kentucky. Thesis, Master of Science in Aquaculture/Aquatic Sciences, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY, USA.

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Efforts Results of the research are being trialed at a larger facility through a CBG and a small farms growout demonstration project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Further analyses will be conducted on contaminant accumulation in reservoir-raised fish and the economics of production.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1) To evaluate growth and survival of fingerling fish fed live foods and/or prepared diets when cultured in dechlorinated tap water or reclaimed water. In Trial 1, paddlefish fed live Daphnia were compared with those fed a sinking Otohime diet for 21 days. Survival and final body weight were significantly higher in fish fed live Daphnia. In Trial 2, paddlefish were fed one of six diets for 14 days. Fish fed either live Daphnia or a combination of Daphnia and a floating Chinese larval diet performed best. Object 2) To biomonitor fish tissues for contaminants when cultured in watershed and reclaimed water sources. Paddlefish (PF) and hybrid striped bass (HSB) were cultured in treated effluent in a decommissioned wastewater treatment facility. Bioaccumulations of chlordane products were higher in PF than in HSB. Both species had detectable levels or mercury and selenium but both remained below levels considered to be of concern.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Cuevas-Uribe, R. & Mims, S.D. in press. Contaminant Bioaccumulation in Paddlefish and Hybrid Striped Bass Juveniles Cultured in Reclaimed Effluent Water at a Decommissioned Wastewater Treatment Facility. Journal of Applied Ichthyology.

Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Graduate and undergraduate students, professional engineers and wastewater managers, and private companies adopting these technologies. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Each study has provided scientific and practical training to graduate and undergraduate students who independently participated in these projects with their major professors. Two of the graduate students have obtained full-time jobs related to their research and experiences. Three private companies received training and assistance in raising paddlefish, hybrid striped and/or tilapia at three decommissioned wastewater plants. These companies have started to market fishes from each of their operations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been disseminated at local, regional, national and international meetings. Workshops were provided in some of the communities to explain the re-purposing or reusing of wastewater facilities to save demolish cost, create jobs and make aquaculture possible to limited resource farmers. Information is posted on website www.paddlefishfarming.com and Facebook social media. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We plan to continue studying reclaim water use and decommissioned plants for aquaculture. Tissue samples will be sampled and analyzed for potential contaminants including heavy metals, organochlorine products, and micropollutants. Mature paddlefish in water supply lakes will be evaluated for roe production and caviar processing information.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Two independent trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of live food versus prepared diets on the growth and survival of intensively cultured paddlefish larvae. In Trial I the effect of live Daphnia on larvae growth and survival was compared to a commercially prepared sinking Otohime diet for 21 d. Larvae were stocked into triplicate 1700-L static tanks at 2000 fish/tank. Final body weight was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the Daphnia treatments (983 ± 1.2 mg) than the Otohime (271 ± 0.1 mg). Survival rate was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the Daphnia treatments (80%) than the Otohime (35%). In Trial II the effect on growth and survival rates of Phase I paddlefish fed 1) Daphnia, 2) a sinking Otohime diet, 3) a sinking Cargill diet, 4) a floating Jin Wei diet, 5) a neutrally buoyant Golden Pearl diet and 6) a combination of Daphnia and Jin Wei diet fed at a 50:50 ratio was evaluated for 14 d. Post larvae were stocked into quadruplicate 121-L flow through tanks at a rate of 32 fish/tank. Final body weight and total length of paddlefish were significantly higher (P<0.05) fed Daphnia (5.2 g, 11.1 cm) or Daphnia/Jin Wei (4.7 g, 10.7 cm) than fish in the other diet treatments (2.2-2.8 g, 8.4-8.9 cm TL) after 14 d. Survival rate was significantly higher in the Daphnia (100%), Daphnia/Jin Wei (95%) and Golden Pearl (94%) treatments than other treatments (53-79%). Results indicated that a live Daphnia diet was optimal for the growth performance and survival of larvae and fingerling paddlefish but Jin Wei and Pearl diets could serve as supplemental diets. A study was conducted to develop a safe and reliable sustainable aquaculture system for producing stocker fish by using reclaimed water in decommissioned wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Kentucky. The specific objectives were: 1. to monitor paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, growth and survival and water quality in experimental tanks with static or flow-through reclaimed water; 2. to evaluate the use of decommissioned tanks for large-scale production of phase II paddlefish, and 3. to biomonitor paddlefish grown in reclaimed water for contaminants. Phase I paddlefish (11 ± 2.6 g) were produced by feeding live Daphnia collected daily from the clarifier tanks with hand-pulled nets for 27 d. Phase II paddlefish were produced in four replicated 5,600-L experimental tanks with static and flow-through reclaimed water. Paddlefish from the flow-through system were significantly larger (199.2 ± 61 g) and had better feed conversion ratios (2.8 ± 2.1) than those from the static system (135.5 ± 51 g; 4.1 ± 1.6). For the large-scale trial, two 1,125m3 decommissioned digester tanks were stocked with 50,000 paddlefish larvae/tank. One tank was treated as a flow-through system with reclaimed water flowing at a rate of 280 L/min; while the other tank was treated as a static system where water was just added to replace that lost by evaporation. Survival (40%) and weight (194.1 ± 25.4 g) from the flow-through system was significantly different from the static system (31%; 147.1 ± 6.5 g). This difference could be linked to better water quality in the flow-through systems. Analyses for 38 contaminants were conducted on Daphnia, prepared diets, and paddlefish. All the concentration levels detected were at levels well below the FDA action limits and their permissible limits in edible food. The result from this project showed paddlefish can be successfully produced as stocker fish using reclaimed water in large-scale in decommissioned tanks at WWTP. Another study was conducted by reusing a decommissioned wastewater facilities supplied with reclaimed water to determine if they could become sustainable aquaculture operations. Paddlefish Polyodon spathula and hybrid striped bass Morone chrysops x M. saxatilis, chosen as valuable food fish, were cultured in reclaimed, secondary disinfected effluent water at a decommissioned wastewater treatment facility in Frankfort, Kentucky to identify any contaminant bioaccumulation in fish tissues. Both species were cultured from fingerling to stocker size during a 90-day production trial. The tissues were analyzed by the Kentucky Environmental Services Branch Laboratory, Frankfort, USA. Chemical component analyses included heavy metals, organochlorines, commonly known as pesticide components, chlordane products and DDT products, as well as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s.) Bioaccumulations of chlordane products in paddlefish tissues were really low (< 0.003 mg kg-1), but were significantly higher than hybrid striped bass tissues where no chlordane products were detected. For heavy metals, mercury and selenium were detected at 0.02 and 0.18 mg kg-1 in paddlefish tissues, respectively and 0.04 and 0.26 mg kg-1 respectively in hybrid striped bass tissues. Though low levels of contaminants were detected, they were well below FDA regulated action levels. These results indicated that using reclaimed, effluent water and unused wastewater treatment facilities could be a feasible operation for aquaculture production. A bioeconomic study investigated the costs and returns associated with vertically integrating paddlefish hatchery, nursery, and grow-out technologies. Data for the project were obtained from experimental and on-farm demonstration sources. In Kentucky, paddlefish hatchery and nursery season takes approximately 150 days from the middle of April. A linear programming model evaluated the cost of production of Phase II paddlefish to be below $0.50/fish when using a decommissioned wastewater facility. When Phase II paddlefish were monocultured at 15,000/water-ha and fed a 32% protein floating channel catfish diet for 18 months, food sized paddlefish were harvested with an average survival rate of 80%. Using contemporary prices, these paddlefish cost $5.81/kg (or $2.64/lb) to produce, which is comparable to hybrid striped bass production costs. The project also investigated the economics associated with growing Phase II paddlefish in a polyculture system with channel catfish, and discusses the potential profit boost they can offer to catfish producers.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Patterson, J.T., S.D. Mims and R.A. Wright. 2013. Effects of body mass and water temperature on routine metabolism of American paddlefish Polyodon spathula. Journal of Fish Biology (2013) 82:1269-1280.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Cuevas-Uribe, R.; Mims, S. D. 2014. Investigation in reuse of decommissioned wastewater facility and reclaimed water for culturing paddlefish fingerlings. World Aquacult. Soc. Accepted jwas.13367.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Cuevas-Uribe, R.; Mims, S. D. 2014. Contaminant bioaccumulation in paddlefish and hybrid striped bass juveniles cultured in reclaimed effluent water at a decommissioned wastewater treatment facility. Journal of Applied Ichthyology Accepted.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Steven D. Mims, 2013. CURRENT GLOBAL STATUS OF AMERICAN PADDLEFISH AQUACULTURE,PADDLEFISH IN AQUACULTURE: CURRENT AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kyle J. Schneider*, Shuhai Bu, Steven D. Mims and Boris Gomelsky, GENETIC STRUCTURE AMONG FOUR POPULATIONS OF PADDLEFISH Polyodon spathula BASED ON MICROSATELLITE MARKERS,PADDLEFISH IN AQUACULTURE: CURRENT AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: William Shelton and Steven D. Mims* EVIDENCE FOR FEMALE HETEROGAMETIC SEX DETERMINATION IN PADDLEFISH Polyodon spathula BASED ON GYNOGENESIS, World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Noah L. Nelson*, Rafael Cuevas-Uribe and Steven D. Mims, EMG MUSCLE ACTIVITY AND RESPIRATION RATES OF PADDLEFISH (Polyodon spathula) DETERMINED BY BODY MASS AND TEMPERATURE IN A STATIC RESPIROMETER, World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Zachary A. Martin*, Steven D. Mims, and Rafael Cuevas-Uribe, EVALUATIONS OF THE INFLUENCES OF PADDLEFISH Polyodon spathula ON RESERVOIR ECOSYSTEMS IN KENTUCKY. World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Noah L. Nelson*, Richard J. Onders and Steven D. Mims PREDATION OF JUVENILE PADDLEFISH STOCKED FOR RANCHING BY SOME PISCIVOROUS FISHES FOUND IN RESERVOIRS OF THE USA. World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Alex Squadrito*, Rafael Cuevas-Uribe and Steven D. MimsPOND PRODUCTION OF PADDLEFISH Polyodon spathula IN KENTUCKY, World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Rafael Cuevas-Uribe* and Steven D. Mims REUSE TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES FOR AQUACULTURE AT DECOMMISSIONED WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES FOR PADDLEFISH FINGERLING CULTURE, World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: B. Timothy Parrott* and Steven D. Mims A NOVEL BUSINESS MODEL USING DECOMMISSIONED WASTEWATER TREATMENT TANKS FOR PADDLEFISH FINGERLING CULTURE AND MUNICIPAL RESERVOIRS FOR GROWOUT World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Steven D. Mims ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION WITH TASTE TESTING OF PADDLEFISH CAVIAR AND SMOKED MEAT World Aquaculture Society National Meeting, Nashville, TN February 21-25, 2013