Veterinary medicine students at The Ohio State University are now more equipped to support Ohio’s aquaculture industry after participating in a tour led by Ohio Sea Grant and the Ohio Aquaculture Association earlier this year.

The July tour, hosted by Ohio Sea Grant and the Ohio Aquaculture Association with support from the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC), was attended by 19 students and faculty from Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Featuring three aquaculture farms located in southwest Ohio, the event’s goal was to help share the needs of the state’s aquaculture industry with those entering veterinary fields, said Nicole Wright, Ohio Sea Grant’s aquaculture extension specialist.

“Increasing the number of veterinary professionals with expertise in aquatic animals can help grow the aquaculture industry in Ohio and the region,” Wright said. “A farm with an established relationship with an aquatic vet has a reliable resource for information about disease prevention and identification which can make a farm more efficient, productive, and profitable.”

Aquaculture — which means farming in water — includes the breeding, raising, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, algae, and other aquatic organisms. In Ohio and the Great Lakes region, this occurs on land-based farms, allowing people to raise aquatic organisms without harming the environment and while still being economically competitive.

GLAC’s state-based advisory groups, including aquaculture association members, had identified important gaps for the region’s aquaculture industry, including the need for dedicated people who practice aquatic veterinary medicine. There is a shortage of aquatic veterinarians that farmers can rely on to prevent disease, identify disease symptoms, and ensure fish are healthy, Wright said. In response, working with the Ohio Aquaculture Association, she established relationships with faculty at the College of Veterinary Medicine to help raise awareness of these needs.

“The entire trip was a highlight for me,” Dr. Alecia Naugle, chair of the Department of Veterinary Preventative Medicine, said of the tour. “I learned something new at every location. It was a great introduction into the types of aquaculture facilities here in Ohio.”

Naugle, who had no prior experience with aquaculture, said she had hoped to expose students to Ohio aquaculture, population health and husbandry aspects of raising aquatic species, and opportunities and roles for veterinarians in the industry.

The tour featured several stops: Roothouse Aquaponics, a year-round farm that uses sustainable and natural practices to grow food; Big Fish Farms, a free-range paddlefish caviar ranch; and Jones Lake Management, one of the state’s largest lake and pond management companies.

Through conversations with farm owners, attendees were able to understand the importance of fish health and how to address health problems that might arise quickly.

“Realistically, the goal wasn’t for all of these students to become aquatic vets,” Wright said. “Instead, perhaps this is something that they incorporate into their practice later on, or maybe they’ll become more engaged in some of these topics as aquaculture continues to grow as a national industry.”

Naugle said she’s worked with several scientists and veterinarians who specialized in aquatic and aquaculture health through her career, yet these specialists are few and far between.

“In Ohio, it’s reasonable to expect that some aquaculture facilities may need to engage the services of veterinarians, especially to develop a relationship for antimicrobial prescriptions and testing protocols to allow interstate or international shipments of farmed fish or their products,” she said. “This industry will continue to grow and opportunities for animal health and veterinary professionals will continue to develop.”

For Elizabeth Sinnathamby, a doctoral candidate in the College of Veterinary Medicine, the tour was her first time learning in-depth about aquaculture processes. While it didn’t necessarily affect her career path, she said, she’s interested in seeing fish in practice in the future.

“I really enjoyed the aquaculture experience this summer,” Sinnathamby said. “I was able to see and learn about three very different aquaculture systems, and I would recommend it to other students in the future. It helped me appreciate the effort that goes into raising, moving, and harvesting fish.”

“Seeing the process by which the paddlefish were farmed was one of the most novel experiences I’ve had in vet school, and I think it’s worth learning about,” she added.

Greg Habing, a professor and vice chair of the Department of Veterinary Preventative Medicine, was another faculty member who attended the event.

“I particularly noticed all of the parallels with the role of the veterinarian and food production, including diagnostic testing, biosecurity, and managing pharmaceuticals,” Habing said. “Our students need additional experience within aquaculture, and I think the training they’re already receiving in veterinary preventive medicine could be applied to aquaculture.”

In a survey conducted following the event, the vast majority of respondents said rated the tour as “excellent” and significantly enhanced their understanding of aquaculture and fish health. All respondents said that aquaculture is “somewhat” or “very” relevant to their professional interests and that they are likely to pursue further learning or engagement in aquaculture as a result of the tour.

The tour will hopefully spur future engagement to help support Ohio aquaculture, Wright said. Naugle said the event gave her several contacts and lots of ideas about how to incorporate aquatic and aquacultural health in Preventative Medicine courses in the future. It also helped her connect veterinary and graduate students with other learning experiences such as a fish health workshop.

“I would love to see more of these types of activities,” Naugle added.

Ohio Aquaculture Association Board President Curtis Gram, an owner and operator of Freedom Fish Farms, served as a tour co-host and co-organizer, and attended the event to speak with participants on behalf of the organization.

“It was great to see the level of interest from the vet meds that were able to attend the tour. There was some great dialogue with the groups and farmers,” Gram said. “They were also able to see the diversity of the industry and hear some of the needs that the farmers are having.”

“My hope is that engagements like this will spark the interests of the veterinary industry by seeing the needs of the aquaculture industry and see how they can provide support,” he continued. “I look forward to growing our relationships within the veterinary industry.”

Ohio Sea Grant is supported by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, and NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 34 Sea Grant programs nation-wide dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie and is the research, education, and outreach facility of Ohio Sea Grant and part of CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources.