Local fish farm says area fish market is thriving - WEAU

MENOMONIE, Wis. (WEAU) -- The agriculture market in Wisconsin has been through some ups and downs recently, but one exception is the farm raised fish market.

According to UW researchers, while other agricultural markets have been bogged down by oversupply, the farm raised fish market is seeing a steady demand.

Jeremiah Fredrickson of Bullfrog Fish Farm in Menomonie, says locally, the fish market is also thriving.

"The Fish market in our area is great,” Fredrickson said. “We have a hard time actually meeting demand for our smoked and our spread and even our fresh fish for that matter."

One of the biggest things that makes these fish farms popular is their sustainability practices.

Bullfrog Fish Farm gets rid of all of the entrails and guts from the fish they don't use by feeding it to two pigs on the property.

According to farm manager, Dave Sundal, They also use a system that recycles their water for constant use.

"Most of Wisconsin's fish farms are trying to raise fish sustainably with the aquafers that are available here in the state,” Sundal said. “We've got the situation where all the water stays right on the property so there's no discharge"

Operating any type of farm in Wisconsin has its challenges, but for Jeremiah it is not strict state regulations, but actually having enough fish to meet demands.

"Our biggest issue is just getting fish to market size,” he said. “It takes two years for a trout to go from an egg to a marketable size and we're a little behind the eight ball on some of those."

But the shortage of fish is sometimes solved by partnering with other small farms in the area.

"Sometimes well buy fish from other small fish farm in the area through a local kind of network that we're trying to establish,” Sundal said. “The Wisconsin Aquaculture Association in the state has been really helpful in helping all of us get on the same page."

According to Jeremiah, his fish farm has had a very successful season with an estimated five thousand people served.

"This has been the best summer for us so far,” he said. “This is our third summer owning the farm and we've expanded to a few other farmers markets and some other businesses and we continue to grow here."

2019-10-20 00:13:21Z
https://www.weau.com/content/news/Local-fish-farm-says-area-fish-market-is-thriving-563468911.html