Floating raceways represent an opportunity for the small farm to best utilize existing resources to practice aquaculture. Kentucky State University aquaculture personnel are seeking collaborators on a grant to improve floating raceways and expand their use across Kentucky.
Fish can be harvested and raised in a floating raceway; screens at either end keep fish contained but allow water with necessary oxygen to come in and waste to be filtered out. Kentucky State's project, which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, is based on the premise that installing floating raceways in existing ponds offers a good opportunity for small farmers to practice aquaculture profitably.
Kentucky State is seeking individual or organizational representation for the 2023 or 2024 season in the following categories:
- Full-time farmer
- Part-time fish farmer
- Fish distributor
- Fee fishing/Pay Lake
- Sportsman's club
- Individual growing or holding fish for community or personal use.
- Youth education
If selected, an aquaculture extension professional will be assigned to each collaborator for consultation throughout the growing season. The project will provide support for materials and assembly of a floating raceway at each location. Other support will be considered depending on available funds and specific needs.
Individual collaborators will determine what will be grown and how the unit will be used at their location. Collaborators will supply a suitable site, electrical service, fingerlings, feed, labor, and will distribute fish produced as they wish. They agree to participate in the project through at least one season, record basic data and milestones in a chronology, and take photographs that will be freely shared with investigators. The extension professional assigned to collaborating farmers will also record basic data, take photographs, and keep a chronology of their interactions with the farmer as material for each case study.
If you have an interest or know of someone who may be interested in applying for the project, please contact Dr. Ken Semmens at ken.semmens@kysu.edu.
Categories: Kentucky, Education