Aquaculture:     The raising and or manipulation of any part of the life cycle of fresh or marine aquatic organisms within a controlled environment.

Aquaculture in Kentucky:

• Started as a means to utilize distillers grains from the bourbon industry 25 years ago.
  • Distillers grains have a high protein content and are used in fish feed
• Aquaculture grew into a small industry in the late 1990s when there was the “Tobacco Buy Out” 
  • Several farmers were losing their tobacco base and looked for other opportunities to replace the loss of income from tobacco.
• Farmers can grow anything in Kentucky, fish was the next product to enter into several farms’ activities
• Today aquaculture in Kentucky is a multi million dollar industry raising paddlefish for meat and caviar, freshwater prawn, tilapia, largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, catfish and trout.
  • There are over 60 fish farmers in Kentucky
  • There are over 600 intensely managed acres and 4000 extensively stocked acres
  • There are 1000s of acres of pay lakes stocked with Kentucky grown fish within the region.
  • There are hundreds of pounds of Kentucky produced caviar that originated in Kentucky waters.
• Every public lake stocked to enhance fishery production or recreational activities, have an aquaculture component.

Aquaculture is the fastest growing sector of agriculture word wide. It is poised to surpass beef production by 2012.  Aquaculture in Kentucky is a fairly new endeavor.  Unlike cattle farming, fish farming has challenges that are difficult for some to comprehend.  Aquaculture is overseen by over 10 different agencies.  There are very few treatments for sick fish that can be used in the U.S. in fish farming. Other countries do not have the same strict and often costly food safety and environmental regulations that U.S. fish farming does. We have the safest fish in the world, other countries can not claim that.  U.S. fish farmers are at a disadvantage on the global fish markets due to the facts that:

• We can not use antibiotics. 
• We can not use chemical treatments that are prevalent in other countries that import millions of pounds of fish into the US annually.
• U.S. fish farmers must abide by strict labor and environmental laws that other countries do not.
• Purchasing KY grown aquaculture products ensures freshness, quality and safety while supporting local farmers and communities.