'Tilapia go by many names. The moniker "St. Peter's fish" comes from the story in the Christian Bible about the apostle Peter catching a fish that carried a coin in its mouth, though the passage does not name the fish.[3] While the name also applies to Zeus faber, a marine fish not found in the area, a few tilapia species (Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus and others) are found in the Sea of Galilee, where the author of the Gospel of Matthew accounts the event took place. These species have been the target of small-scale artisanal fisheries in the area for thousands of years.[4][5] In some Asian countries including the Philippines, large tilapia go by pla-pla while the smaller types are just tilapia.[6]
Tilapia go by many names. The moniker "St. Peter's fish" comes from the story in the Christian Bible about the apostle Peter catching a fish that carried a coin in its mouth, though the passage does not name the fish.[3] While the name also applies to Zeus faber, a marine fish not found in the area, a few tilapia species (Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus and others) are found in the Sea of Galilee, where the author of the Gospel of Matthew accounts the event took place. These species have been the target of small-scale artisanal fisheries in the area for thousands of years.[4][5] In some Asian countries including the Philippines, large tilapia go by pla-pla while the smaller types are just tilapia.[6]'
'...MARTINSVILLE, Va. — It doesn’t look like a farm. From the outside it looks like any other manufacturing building in an industrial park. Step inside, however, into the humid office area and it is obvious something different is going on.
Blue Ridge Aquaculture (BRA) in Martinsville, is the world’s largest indoor fisheries. In its 100,000-square-foot facility on less than two and a half acres of land, BRA raises more than 4 million pounds of protein every year in the form of tilapia. In contrast, using the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association statistics, less than 10,000 pounds of beef could be produced on the same acreage and not in an industrial park.
Tilapia is a valuable source of protein, and it is growing in popularity. Demand for the fish quadrupled in the four years leading to 2007 and has continued to grow. The National Marine Fisheries Service ranks tilapia as the fifth most popular seafood in the United States.
BRA uses an indoor recirculating aquaculture system to grow tilapia to 1.5 pounds at harvest, with a stocking density of 1.5 gallons of water per fish. Unlike other large-scale animal production, which may require the prophylactic use of antibiotics and growth hormones to overcome stress caused by high animal densities, the tilapia actually benefit. Being packed together makes the fish less territorial and aggressive and improves health and growth rates.
“The fish grow better that way,” said Jim Franklin III, BRA vice president. “These fish are bred for this facility. We could increase the density. The density of the fish is not an issue; it’s water condition....”
These two organizations say it (there are many more) better than I can. Fish-framing and Indoor Fish-Farming are potentially viable economic activities for urban and rural areas.
For example, this could be done in Plainfield; all that is needed is the will, gumption and ingenuity to put all the pieces together. Plainfield could husband a pilot project run by Union County College in conjunction with Plainfield High School as the beginnings of a new academic program in Aquaculture with funding to come from grants -the hard part. Doing it this way takes some of the pressure off of having to be profitable right away, gives more time to work the kinks out (and there will be kinks) and develops a local talent pool.
Next more on Aquaculture: 'Skyscrapers in the Mist/Midst'
Next more on Aquaculture: 'Skyscrapers in the Mist/Midst'
3 comments:
The company you profile is in its 18th year and appears to be doing well. It's not clear when they reached their break even point. Plainfield has the attention span of a child and would never support the type of long term investment needed.
What Plainfield needs is to tear down the old factories and build housing that is needed for our needy people.
The 2% tax cap is crazy, those that can afford it, like those in the second ward, need to pay more to support those with nothing.
Anon 4/24 10:11 PM
IAnon 4/24 10:11 PM
I am going to take issues with your statement about tearing down factories and building more housing for the needy. It does nothing to help the needy. It only institutionalizes their situation. Investing in the needy to make them productive members in our society will help and make them independent. The object of my post is to get people to think and to show them there are opportunities out there for them and for the revitalization of Plainfield. So far I think I might be crying in the wilderness. I’m afraid what will happen is that someone will do this in Westfield and then all we will hear is why no one did that in Plainfield.
Wouldn't it make sense to development business -- which would provide jobs for the "needy" -- and then they'd be needy no longer?
Olive
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