The main bottleneck to further development of sustainable and intensive aquaculture in Midwest is improvement of larval fish rearing technologies and larval fish nutrition. The main objective of this project is to develop detailed protocols for larval largemouth bass rearing in indoor facilities that will help to support high survival and growth performance of this species in its young age.

The primary objectives are: 1) To develop a tool to measure the accessibility of safe surface water and coastal recreational resources to communities around southern Lake Michigan, and link this tool to models that support economic valuation of coastal recreation and tourism areas. The aim of this tool is to identify the benefits of investments in improving water quality and public access in legacy contaminated areas, particularly Areas of Concern. 2) To characterize the current marketing and retail chain for Great Lakes fish, and measure the potential for value-added products and marketing to consumers in the region. Possible products include publications and educational materials aimed at increasing the profitability of commercial fish production and consumer access to locally-sourced fish, both wild-caught and aquaculture.

The overall goals of this project are to:

• Better understand coastal processes in terms of nearshore hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and coastal morphology under changing climate forcing in Lake Michigan
• Help effectively communicate to stakeholders, with the purpose of promoting sustainable shore protection, increasing the integrity of beaches; and stabilizing bluffs/dunes in Lake Michigan

• Develop an optimal methodology for largemouth bass (LMB) muscle hydrolysis using digestive enzymes representing LMB digestive tract
• Evaluate the effect of LMB muscle protein hydrolysate used as first feed on the growth and survival of LMB larvae
• Provide feed/additive manufacturing industry with knowledge and tools required for production of high-quality, cost effective, and well-digested dietary muscle hydrolysate as a source of protein in larval fish feeds

• Determine the effectiveness of the current electric barriers and proposed carbon dioxide barriers in the Chicago Area Waterway System at deterring the passage of invertebrate species from a wide range of taxonomic groups
• Determine whether different voltages and frequencies of electricity affect the effectiveness of the electric barriers in the Chicago Area Waterway System at deterring species passage
• Determine whether different concentrations of carbon dioxide affect the effectiveness of proposed carbon dioxide barriers in the Chicago Area Waterway System at deterring species passage.

• Determine the concentrations and speciation of PFAS in important Lake Michigan sportfish
• Evaluate dietary routes for PFAS exposure from prey to predator fish using δ15N and δ13C stable isotopes along with PFAS speciation
• Assess the relationship between total fluorine and PFAS concentrations to determine the full extent of the PFAS problem
• Compare observed PFAS concentrations in fish from Illinois-Indiana waters to other areas such as inland Michigan waterways where PFAS are known to be a problem