A tank of fish grown at Marineland Aquaponics.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE
Fish Farm By Amanda Overstreet, Communications Coordinator
IMAGINE PRODUCING a high quality product grown at a rate nearly 10 times faster than in soil with a smaller carbon footprint. The science behind this method of agriculture is known as aquaponics. A resourceful method of food production, aquaponics systems use effluent from fish to grow plants by combining re-circulating aquaculture (RAS) and hydroponics. Jean-Sebastien Gros is the managing director and on-site project manager of Marineland Aquaponics, a state-of-the-art marine harvesting operation in Putnam County. Conveniently located next to Deep Creek on the St. Johns River, Marineland Aquaponics is the successor and repurposing of Anguilla Fish Farm, a flow-through aquaculture system that produced hybrid striped bass, Anguilla eels and tilapia for over 35 years. 6
FLORIDAGRICULTURE | JUNE 2019
“Anguilla Fish Farm was completely devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016,” Gros explained. “The farm encountered exceptional flooding and the entire electrical grid was wiped out. Over half a million fish were lost in just a few hours.” Gros said that the operation was hit once more in 2017 when Hurricane Irma barreled through the state, this time even harder. His partner and avid conservation leader, Jim Jacoby, purchased the farm in April of 2018 to convert it to a resilient and sustainable RAS system. Gros brings with him 30-plus years of executive management experience working in large scale
aquaculture, specifically farmraised salmon produced in Chile. He has also supported aquaculture projects worldwide in Haiti, China and Vietnam. Marineland Aquaponics is his latest project and it is scheduled to be completed with its first phase by September of this year. The project will transform the flowthrough aquaculture system into a complete re-circulation system that uses cutting-edge aquaponics techniques. Suzanne Archer is the Technical Program Coordinator for Agricultural Assistance with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and learned of Marineland Aquaponics’ project through one of the district’s costshare programs. The SJRWMD partnership awarded Marineland Aquaponics with funding in the amount of $250,000 towards project costs. “This project is one of the most
