Rural Issue

There’s growing interest in aquaculture in the Midwest

There’s growing interest in aquaculture—fish farming—in the Midwest.  But the industry is experiencing some growing pains.

“I don’t think the industry has grown like we all thought it would. We have some choke points we have to deal with,” says Bill Lynch, owner of Millcreek Perch Farms of Columbus, Ohio and a leader in helping develop aquaculture in the region.

Lynch believes for small fish farmers to be successful, they will need to form cooperatives.  He discussed that idea in his keynote presentation at the recent aquaculture conference in Ames, Iowa, sponsored by the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers.  More than 200 people attended that conference.

Prior to his presentation, we visited with Lynch about his own fish operation and the current state of the aquaculture industry in the Midwest.

AUDIO: Bill Lynch