The goal of this research is to purify and identify cell growth-promoting activity found in fish embryo extract.

The objectives of this project are to:

• Develop a growth curve for yellow perch fed purified and practical diets.
• Evaluate the effects of dietary lipids on growth, feed efficiency, and nutritional composition of fillets.
• Provide an indication of the essential fatty acid needs of yellow perch.

Aquaponics food production systems produce more food on less land, using less water than conventional food production systems. Further, they can be located near population centers, diminishing the carbon footprint of long-distance transportation of foods. Fresh food supplies in urban cities in the US takes advantage of the developing trends among consumers seeking sustainable, fresh, locally grown food supplies. Marine aquaponic systems are capable of producing fresh seafood and plant crops with high market value and strong consumer demand, but few species combinations have been developed well enough for practical applications. In this project, we propose continuing our ongoing efforts to explore marine aquaponics and provide operational guidelines for successful production.

Objective 1 – Complete our developing list of salt-tolerant plant species with a focus on seed availability, recommendations for germination, growth rates, and chemical composition data;
Objective 2 – Evaluate the long-term sustainability of a shrimp/plant marine aquaponic system, and evaluate salinity tolerance of 3-6 halophytic plant crop in marine aquaponics systems; and,
Objective 3 – Determine characteristics of the Asian markets in Chicago for products from marine aquaponic FPS and estimate total poundage of market demand.

The objective of this project is to establish the current marketing status and potential for yellow perch products with wholesale and retail businesses in the seafood marketing channels in the North Central Region of the United States.

The objectives of this project are:

• To develop optimal in vitro methodology for Asian carp muscle hydrolysis using largemouth bass (LMB) endogenous digestive enzymes obtained from adult LMB.
• To evaluate the effect of Asian carp muscle protein hydrolysates obtained using methodology in Objective 1 as a first feed for larval LMB.

• Determine the existing and near-term (5-10 years) market for striped bass species in the Midwest region of the US for food consumption
• Analyze the competitive advantages of rearing a euthyhaline species (Striped Bass) in Illinois/Midwest using regional saline water resources
• Locate appropriate saline water resources in Illinois and examine water quality for compatibility with striped bass production