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Something Fishy At State Fair
By Susan Bence
August 4, 2008 | WUWM | Milwaukee, WI

Today is the 5th day of the Wisconsin State Fair. Thousands of people will gobble up cream puffs and view prizewinning ponies, but they also might learn a thing or two about agriculture, including something you wouldn’t think of.

That’s fish.

Tucked among the farm animals, food stands, and souvenirs is the Ag Oasis, where I wander toward a blue and white striped tent. In the center of the tent stands a small sky-blue skirted table. On top of that table is a tiny tank, by fish farm standards. It’s no bigger than a large rolling suitcase, tipped on its side. This is a miniature model of what a fully functioning fish farm ecosystem could be.

Right now, scientists are about to stock the tank with perch they’ve brought directly from their lab at the Great Lakes Water Institute. Jon Bales is working with the Water Institute. He’s one of the founders of the Urban Aquaculture Center, an organization that wants to develop fish farming in Milwaukee.

“It was custom made. It has slots at the top for two trays of plants and the water is cycling through the fish tank up into the plants and back down. These are water-loving plants, watercress,” Bales says.

And soon there will be 16 young water-loving perch too. Bales says the model demonstrates how an organic system can work, growing vegetables, raising fish and creating zero waste.

“The Great Lakes perch population has been reduced by 90 percent probably. And then it was staged for a comeback they thought, and now we have the VHS Virus and fish are turning up dead on the shoreline. Boy everything points to let’s wise up. Let’s start not depending on natural bodies of water for our fish protein supply,” Bales says.

He’s hoping some of the 850 thousand people who visit State Fair, will discover his 100 gallon tank and get as excited about urban farm fishing as he is. Bales has captured the imagination of 99 volunteers, who will help watch over the tank throughout the fair. Before the volunteers can start filling their shifts, the tank has to be stocked. Bales says, perch are happiest, in water around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Overnight this tank warmed up to about five degrees too high, so we need to cool this water down by adding some more cold water,” Bales says.

He says you’ve got to be extremely careful whenever you transfer fish from one environment to another.

Steven Yeo, one of the Water Institute scientists, announces the temperature has dropped now, but he still needs to do further testing. He draws a water sample from the tank and adds a solution to it.

“I would only do this test when we are transporting fish to a system where it might have chlorine in it,” Yeo says.

He says if the water turns pink, chlorine, that will kill the fish, is lurking in the tank. Yeo adds smidges of sodium sulfite to balance the water.

Finally, Yeo and his colleagues okay the transfer. The perch are carefully dumped, one or two at a time, into the tank. Each one sinks listlessly to the bottom, and stay put.

“They’re mad that we moved them. We netted them out of their tank and we hauled them in a box over here, so they’re not too pleased. And they have to adjust temperature now too, so they’re going to be a little upset. They probably won’t want to eat for a while,” Yeo says.

I ask how many perch Yeo plans to put in the tank. “Fred will judge by how many we think it can hold,” Yeo says.

He’s talking about Fred Binkowski. He’s the one with the little green net carefully orchestrating the transfer. This handful of fish represents less than a fraction of the research Binkowski oversees in his lab along Lake Michigan, where he tests and tweaks tens of thousands of perch and other fish. Binkowski says aquaculture isn’t a new concept. It’s been around since 5000 B.C. He says it’s a 30 billion dollar industry in China.

“The US, they pale by comparison, it’s like a billion dollars a year,” Binkowski says.

Binkowski says education isn’t just a piece of this display at State Fair. The public has to learn what to do with the fish.

“If I give either the woman or the man, who does the cooking in the house a pound of hamburger they would be able to think of five things to do with it. If I gave you a pound of perch filets, you might not come up with any ideas to do with that,” Binkowski says.

Binkowski says when scientists perfect the system, and perch can be grown efficiently and cost-effectively, the industry can take off here.

The Urban Aquaculture Center is already learning the ins and outs of raising fish in an urban setting. Across town, 15 thousand fish are living under one roof.