Location: Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture Research
Project Number: 8082-10600-001-002-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Apr 1, 2025
End Date: Mar 31, 2026
Objective:
Over the past decade, the U.S. farmed salmon industry has demonstrated significant growth and substantial capital investment in large-scale land-based, closed-containment operations utilizing water recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) technologies. There are numerous advantages to land-based RAS compared to more traditional farming methods; these advantages include increased environmental control of fish culture conditions for optimized and biosecure fish production, the ability to strategically locate farms close to markets or regions supplying inexpensive power, and the enhanced ability to capture wastes to reduce environmental contamination significantly. As a relatively new approach to salmon farming, however, there remains considerable room for improvement in refining and optimizing the technological, biological, and economic aspects of RAS production. The Conservation Fund Freshwater Institute (TCFFI), an extramural research program of the USDA-ARS, has been at the forefront of RAS technology research and development since the 1990s, and continue to be uniquely suited to serve this growing agricultural sector through focused stakeholder-driven research and innovation. The next 5-year research plan will focus on critical areas and knowledge gaps hinder growth in the U.S. land-based, closed-containment RAS salmon industry. Specifically, objectives are to 1) optimize genetic x environmental interactions for Atlantic salmon performance in recirculating aquaculture systems, 2) develop strategies to reduce the impacts of early maturation in Atlantic salmon on growth and production efficiency, 3) develop precision aquaculture strategies to improve recirculating aquaculture system production efficiencies, 4) develop and optimize methods to transform recirculating aquaculture system waste products to valuable, alternative revenue streams, and 5) optimize recirculating aquaculture system parameters for coho salmon.
Approach:
Production of salmon in land-based RAS facilities is a relatively new approach to salmon farming, and as such, there are considerable knowledge gaps regarding the technological, biological, and economic aspects of RAS production that we aim to address in our research plan. To address these gaps, the approach is to 1) assist breeders by identifying salmon families demonstrating superior performance in RAS, 2) reduce early salmon maturation through RAS environmental manipulation, 3) develop and apply precision aquaculture technologies to improve RAS salmon production, 4) develop viable alternative revenue streams for RAS farmers through converting waste to sellable products, and 5) investigate environmental conditions that optimize RAS production of coho salmon, an alternative and potentially significant salmonid species for the U.S. RAS industry. Domestic RAS producers will benefit from this research through 1) the application of findings to the development of standardized best management practices for salmon RAS production, and 2) improvement in economic viability and environmental sustainability through monetizing RAS waste streams. This project will lead to eventual public benefit through growth in the sustainable domestic production of wholesome, nutritious seafood products (and thereby reduce reliance on imported products, which are often inadequately regulated) and reduced environmental impact of aquaculture production through effective waste capture and conversion to useful, sellable products.