You’re probably familiar with Ohio agriculture and the many corn, soybean, and livestock farms around the state. But are you familiar with Ohio aquaculture and the state’s sustainable fish farms?

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.

In recent years, Ohio Sea Grant has played a significant role in helping grow aquaculture’s presence statewide, thanks to the efforts of Nicole Wright, the program’s aquaculture extension educator.

“Ohio Sea Grant has been working to tell the story of aquaculture as it happens in Ohio,” said Wright, who joined the program in 2020. “This means helping people make the connection that the fish stocked in their friend’s pond were grown on a fish farm and are now adding value as a tool in pond management and by creating recreational opportunities. It also means making the public aware of fish as a local food, whether wild-caught or farmed.”

In her position, Wright listens and responds to the needs of aquaculture producers and those interested in learning more about the field. Ohio Sea Grant’s efforts bring together farmers, researchers, industry leaders, and state agencies while identifying research, education, and outreach needs.

“This can look like answering questions, developing research priorities that are informed by those in the field, doing outreach and education at events statewide, or connecting would-be or current producers with the information or people who can help them solve problems,” Wright said. “It also means bringing together audiences with different motivations to see they have common goals and can work better together.”

Ohio Sea Grant has worked in tandem with the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC), an effort by Sea Grant programs in the region to aid the industry with science-based information, resources, and expertise. GLAC members include Sea Grant staff and aquaculture partners who work together to identify and share best management practices with regional producers and increase consumers’ understanding of aquaculture.

In Ohio, sustainable freshwater farms supply fish for different purposes: pond stocking — for recreational fishing, pond management, or ornamental water gardens — and food for restaurants and grocery stores. These aquatic operations often face unique challenges compared to traditional farms, including higher regulatory costs, greater barriers to access capital, and/or a need for more specialized expertise.

“We can fund and conduct research that addresses key questions about fish feeds, fish health, production, and profitability, and we can continue to raise awareness about why, how, who, and what fish farms are in Ohio.”
Nicole Wright

“Aquaculture is a very challenging industry to be a part of and to enter into as a new producer,” Wright said. “There’s a lot of risk involved in what they’re doing. It can also be that people just don’t even realize it’s something you can get into.”

Despite a lack of awareness, aquaculture remains an important industry in Ohio that has impacts beyond production at farms. State hatcheries run by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources raise fish that people rely on for recreational fishing. On the culinary side, fish farms contribute to the domestic production of seafood in the U.S., which has a tremendous import-export disparity, Wright said.

“Aquaculture contributes to Ohio’s agriculture by producing dozens of aquatic species with multiple uses, providing jobs in small to large local businesses, and adding to local economies,” Wright said.

To address concerns and challenges related to aquaculture, Wright convenes a state advisory board under GLAC, with representation from industry, academia, regulatory agencies, and consumers. Insights from board meetings directly inform Ohio Sea Grant’s work. Wright also collaborates with the Ohio Aquaculture Association to accomplish those goals.

“Those boards are really important in shaping the work that we do and defining research priorities, such as for Ohio Sea Grant funded research,” Wright said. “It’s people coming from different perspectives to talk about what’s top of mind. We’re really trying to be responsive to what people want and need.”

Accordingly, Ohio Sea Grant has funded a number of aquaculture research projects in recent years, from an innovative recirculating aquaponics demonstration system to development of sensors that can detect deadly pathogens in fish tissue.

Meanwhile, Ohio Sea Grant has sought to make aquaculture relatable and understandable through different projects, such as an educational campaign to tell the story of the yellow perch and aquaculture in Ohio. Wright and others produced display panels — now used at outreach events — that show how the fish are part of both wild and farmed fisheries in the state. The project was made possible through an aquaculture mini-grant from the North American Association for Environmental Education and NOAA.

“People can come up and learn more and say, ‘oh, I didn’t know yellow perch ate mosquitoes. I didn’t know there was aquaculture in Ohio. I didn’t know people farm fish here,’” Wright explained.

Alongside other Sea Grant staff members within GLAC, Wright contributes to an online, interactive education project: the Great Lakes Fish Finder. The website provides consumers with an easy-to-use map of fish seller locations and businesses throughout the Great Lakes region, where they can purchase sustainable, wild-caught, aquaculture-raised seafood products.

Another significant step in Ohio Sea Grant’s aquaculture efforts: Discover Ohio Aquaculture, a first-of-its-kind outreach event held in June 2024 that brought together aquaculture producers and stakeholders from around the state. There, aquaculture producers shared their story with a crowd of fellow farmers, experts, educators, and officials from state and local agencies. Attendees exchanged information about farming practices, challenges, and lessons learned, and Wright hopes the event will be the first of many.

“We can be the ones to compile the information. We can be the ones to bring people to the table,” Wright said. “We’re here to provide that service to the entire industry. So maybe we don’t work farm by farm, but we’re trying to do things that broadly help everyone within the industry.”

Moving forward, Wright says she hopes to expose more students, including culinary students and students in 4-H and Future Farmers of America programs, to the aquaculture industry as a potential career. She added that the future of aquaculture in Ohio will depend on its ability to grow as a sustainable, economically viable, and resilient industry in the region.

“As Sea Grant, we can develop educational tools producers can use with lenders alongside their business plans,” Wright said. “We can use science to inform people about the impacts of aquaculture production, helping them make informed decisions. We can fund and conduct research that addresses key questions about fish feeds, fish health, production, and profitability, and we can continue to raise awareness about why, how, who, and what fish farms are in Ohio.”

For more information about Ohio aquaculture, contact Wright at wright.1128@osu.edu.

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.