Industry update News Aquaponics Marine Sustainability
New aquaponic RAS facility opens in Connecticut raising Mediterranean sea bass with leafy greens

Ideal Fish has officially opened its brand new land-based aquaponic facility in Waterbury, Connecticut, in the United States, spanning 63,000-sq-ft of recirculating aquaculture system (RAS).

Using aquaculture filtration and aquaponics technology from Pentair, the new facility is expected to raise more than 350,000 lbs. of Mediterranean sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), also known as branzino, and 50,000 lbs. of leafy greens per year, according to Pentair.

Branzino imports have grown in the U.S. in recent years, reaching more than 7,500 metric tons in 2017, up nearly 50 per cent from 2014, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Ideal Fish is to be the first aquaculture facility in the U.S. to raise branzino using RAS technology.

“By utilizing advanced Pentair filtration technology, Ideal will be able to reuse more than 90 percent of the water they use. With land-based RAS, there’s also no chance of fish escaping into the wild – another major concern for ocean-based fish farms,” a statement from Pentair said.

“From the start, I believed that recirculating aquaculture systems and aquaponic systems offered the ideal solution to some of the serious challenges facing consumers in this country when attempting to source fresh, high-quality, traceable and safe seafood and greens. In addition to this, I knew that if we built the correct facility, with the technological expertise and influence from Pentair, we would create a clear solution to many of the long-standing issues that have plagued our existing food chain,” Ideal Fish founder Eric Pedersen said.

Ideal Fish plans to apply for USDA certification as an organic farm.