DURHAM, N.H. – Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have launched an integrated aquaculture farming research project that aims to provide a model for integrating land-based aquaculture systems with hydroponic plant production systems that can be used locally to increase food production.

“Over half of the world’s seafood is produced from aquaculture. Eighty percent of the seafood we eat here in the United States is imported resulting in nearly an annual $11 billion trade deficit for seafood alone. We need to take control of our food production systems by developing a sustainable U.S.-based aquaculture industry,” said Todd Guerdat, a NH Agricultural Experiment Station researcher and assistant professor of agricultural engineering who is leading the project at the Kingman Research Farm.

Specifically, researchers are evaluating nutrients for plants growing in a recirculating aquaponic system that come from the food fed to fish. Using three identical greenhouses, researchers will look at different protein levels in fish feed, and potentially different protein sources, as a way to determine if higher protein diets are more beneficial for plant production or not, or if a different protein source produces different plant-available nutrients in the system.

“Recirculating aquaponic businesses are already in action here in New Hampshire and the Northeast. However, there are a great many questions that still remain. How do you match the fish and plant production systems? How big should each be? What are realistic production estimates for business plan development? What is the most efficient design for a recirculating aquaponic system? This research aims to answer all of these questions so anyone – a farmer or individual grower – can take the results and apply them directly to their own application,” Guerdat said.

He explained that integrated farming systems improve energy and resource utilization, and offer an opportunity to monetize otherwise costly treatment processes. Recirculating aquaponic systems are an ideal integrated farming model that produce fish and plants for food locally and sustainably. However, to ensure the sustainable development of an integrated recirculating aquaponic system that produces vegetables and herbs using excess nutrients from finfish production, renewed engineering principles must be applied to develop sound system design guidelines for realistic productivity estimates and economic sustainability.

Guerdat has received extensive support and interest from the community for his research project. “We have been overwhelmed with questions, offers for volunteering, and general expressions of support from many, many wonderful people. We are looking forward to bringing the results to on-campus presentations for more folks to see and enjoy,” he said.

He will discuss his research project at a Twilight Meeting and Research Field Day Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, at the farm. For more information on the event, visit http://colsa.unh.edu/nhaes/article/2016/09/kingmantwilight.

This material is based upon work supported by the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, through joint funding of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 1010110, and the state of New Hampshire.

Founded in 1887, the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture is UNH’s original research center and an elemental component of New Hampshire's land-grant university heritage and mission.