Iowa Aquaculture Makes a Splash

Iowa innovation inspires homegrown seafood

By Darcy Dougherty Maulsby | Photos by Joseph L. Murphy

If you’re a seafood fan, do you know where the fish or shrimp on your dinner plate came from? The answer might surprise you.

“The U.S. imports approximately 91% of all the seafood consumed in this country,” says Joe Sweeney, CEO of Eagle’s Catch, a fish farm that produces tilapia in Ellsworth.

It’s a stark contrast to the local food movement and American-raised products that fill grocery store shelves and meat cases. Beyond relying on imports, an even bigger challenge is looming in terms of supply. Nearly half of people around the globe depend on fish as a key source of protein in their diet. Global demand for fish protein is projected to grow through 2030.

“It’s estimated that the seafood industry will need to increase production by 44% to meet this demand,” says Chuck White, an Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) director who farms near Spencer and serves on the Soy Aquaculture Alliance (SAA).

Global seafood supplies are being depleted, however. About two-thirds of the world’s seafood is overfished, according to the SAA, which connects the U.S. soybean industry and domestic aquaculture. Overfishing is also curbing supplies of fish meal, which is often used for aquaculture feed. “Overfishing means additional seafood will need to come from aquaculture,” Sweeney says. “That also impacts feed sources.”

Joe Sweeney is the CEO of Eagle's Catch in Ellsworth.

State-of-the-art facilities like Eagle's Catch in Ellsworth could soon be dotting the Iowa landscape as consumers turn to commercially raised aquaculture.

Protein-rich soymeal provides a nutritious feed option for fish. As the seafood industry looks for alternatives, Iowa is becoming part of the solution. Iowa soybeans processed into soymeal for aquaculture feed can play a key role in supporting a more sustainable seafood supply. “About 50% of seafood produced worldwide today is farmed,” says Tom Adam, an ISA director who farms near Harper and serves on the SAA. “This percentage is growing, which is good news for soybean farmers.”

Protein-rich soymeal can provide a nutritious feed option for farmed seafood. Seafood raised in commercial aquaculture operations offers other advantages that translate into higher food quality and more eco-friendly food production.

“Increased commercial seafood production takes the pressure off wild species that are being overfished,” White says. “The water quality in a commercial setting can also be managed to support a healthier environment. This creates a better product for people who eat seafood.”

Feeding a Growing Industry

The time is right for Iowa soybean farmers to maximize new aquaculture opportunities.

“There’s a need to feed various aquatic animals using ingredients that are sustainable, cost-efficient and appropriate for specific species,” says Joe Morris, Ph.D., an Iowa State University professor of natural resource ecology and management. “There’s strong potential for use of soymeal for aquaculture feeds.”

Sweeney understands this well. “There are a lot of concerns about fish meal. That’s why we want to move away from it in the next five years and use more soymeal, distillers dried grains (a co-product of ethanol production) and other products of Midwest agriculture.”

Sustainable, safe feed options are important to Eagle’s Catch, which broke ground in 2017 and sells live tilapia to Asian food stores in Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Dallas, Nashville and beyond. The right feed ingredients become even more important as the fish farm explores raising other species, including red snapper and barramundi, a type of Asian sea bass.

Protein-packed soymeal can be used to develop feeds for specific species within the aquaculture industry, adds Morris, who also serves as the director of the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center. “Soymeal is readily available for feed manufacturers, and it can result in more shelf-stable feed products, according to some fish nutritionists. It also produces fewer effluents (liquid waste discharged into the water) than fish meal after it’s consumed,” he explains.

Aquaculture at home and abroad fits well with soybean farming, White says. “Soy protein is a renewable resource with abundant supplies. It’s a safe, proven, economical option to help produce high-quality seafood.”

Chuck White, a soybean farmer from Spencer, is a member of the Soy Aquaculture Alliance, which is dedicated to expanding the use of U.S.-grown soybeans in domestic aquaculture diets.

Researching Superior Soy Products

While soymeal’s nutritional profile is highly compatible with seafood production, research is underway at universities and private companies to develop soybean varieties tailored to the specific needs of the aquaculture industry.

This includes higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 is common in fish meal and tends to be higher in wild-caught seafood, compared to farm-raised seafood. “We need to keep doing research to come up with the right soy-based rations for specific fish,” says Adam.

Part of this research revolves around the protein content in soymeal. While soymeal typically contains 44-48% protein, scientists are studying ways to boost this to 70%. Supplying the right levels of protein is important for the health of any livestock species, including seafood. “We feed pigs a 12-15% protein feed ration,” says Adam. “Catfish, however, need 34% protein.”

Catfish love soy, he adds. “They can eat 50% of their ration from soymeal. Other fish species like salmon also need a lot of protein.”

Not only does soymeal offer a low-cost, healthy alternative to fish meal, but there’s also no difference in the rate of gain compared to fish meal-based feed rations, White says. Rate of gain determines how efficiently livestock – including aquatic creatures – utilize feed to reach market weight. “Our fish are really efficient at energy conversion,” Sweeney says. “It takes about nine months to grow a tilapia from half a gram to a market weight of roughly 700 grams, which is 1.5 pounds.”

While Eagle’s Catch has been purchasing fish feed from Louisiana, the company is talking with feed manufacturers in Iowa to purchase more locally grown feed. “Along with the nutritional component, the feed has to float, so that’s a big consideration,” Sweeney says. “We’re excited about using more Iowa products.”

When Eagle’s Catch is in full production, the company will feed 60,000 bushels of soybeans per year. “Iowa agriculture is No. 1 or near the top in so many areas, from pork and egg production to corn and soybean production,” Sweeney says. “We want to help bring world-class opportunities to aquaculture, too.”

Homegrown Soy, Seafood Make a Splash

Aquaculture has a strong future in Iowa, as long as smart business decisions are made along the way, Morris says.

“People want more homegrown food, so there are a lot of opportunities for U.S.-raised seafood and shrimp,” adds White, who notes that off-shore fish farms in the U.S. can raise marine species like bluefin tuna. “This is great for soybean producers, who can provide the soymeal for the feed.” While the seafood industry will probably never create as big of a market for soymeal as pig and cattle production do, it’s still a good growth area, Adam says. “It can help Iowa farmers continue to tap into domestic and export markets for their products.”

Aquaculture markets might not be limited only to seafood production. “Although the first idea is to produce fish for the consumer market, there are markets related to bait, farm-pond management and ornamental ponds,” Morris says.

Eagle’s Catch is showing what’s possible in the aquaculture industry. “We’re excited to continue growing aquaculture’s footprint here in Iowa and the Midwest,” Sweeney says. “This creates a lot of opportunities for consumers and farmers of all kinds, including soybean growers.”

Eagle's Catch currently raises tilapia and is exploring other species to raise at its Ellsworth location.

Eagle's Catch currently raises tilapia and is exploring other species to raise at its Ellsworth location.

Tilapia is a flaky white fish with a mild flavor that can be baked, grilled or pan fried and seasoned with paprika, thyme, lemon pepper or cayenne pepper. It can be purchased fresh from the fish counter at most grocery stores or individually wrapped as frozen fillets in the freezer section.

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