Visionary hooked on urban fish farm

**lukabottle** · May-08-12, 11:31 AM

This sounds like an interesting project. I hope Wozniak can pull it off. What do others think about a tilapia farm as a source of a jobs for substance abusers and former prisoners?

Wozniak is dreaming big, green, sustainable and with gills: The first project will be a tilapia farm, housed in a renovated Detroit industrial building, which he envisions as "the largest indoor fish facility in the country."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz1uIRVd2CV

**mwilbert** · May-08-12, 12:08 PM

I think it is a good idea, assuming the market size actually exists. There is a lot of imported tilapia around, and the fresh and/or live market is probably not enormous. But maybe it's bigger than I think.

The other thing I didn't see in that op-ed was a plan to deal with the tilapia waste. It can be used as fertilizer for plants, but to do that you need some plants. For 5 million tilapia, you need a whole lot of plants.

**WPitonya** · May-08-12, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by mwilbert

The other thing I didn't see in that op-ed was a plan to deal with the tilapia waste. It can be used as fertilizer for plants, but to do that you need some plants. For 5 million tilapia, you need a whole lot of plants.

Couldn't Hantz Farms use the waste? It will be pretty close to there. This could be the beginning of an excellent sustainable system.

**Hypestyles** · May-08-12, 02:08 PM

hopefully this takes off and becomes an ongoing business in the city.. [[side note.. wasn't a fish processing facility part of the original 'AfricaTown' proposal? heh..)

**illwill** · May-08-12, 02:59 PM

I know Chicago has quite a few vertical farms. This one called The Plant is pretty popular and is also an incubator space. They have several small sustainable companies in the building. They had a brewery that recently out grew the space and are now looking for a brick and mortar space to open their own brewery. The plant is looking to replace them with another start-up brewery.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...kOWaPEbFPhq7HA

**Zacha341** · May-09-12, 06:42 AM

I recall that but of course it went no where. With so much vendor and supplier related corruption in house related to even the construction of such a facility, etc. I doubt it could have at the time it was proposed .

Originally Posted by Hypestyles

hopefully this takes off and becomes an ongoing business in the city.. [[side note.. wasn't a fish processing facility part of the original 'AfricaTown' proposal? heh..)

**DetroitPlanner** · May-09-12, 07:39 AM

This whole project cost $14 million in start up costs? Can't it be scaled back a bit to allow them to use the $1 million the Erb Foundation has dedicated to the project?

**Det_ard** · May-09-12, 08:24 AM

Does it make business sense to fish farm in the North where you have to pay for heat during the winter? Why not just locate in the South like most other fish farms. Transport can't be more expensive than heating a drafty old detroit warehouse. Unless this is just a demonstration project or someone's personal flyer.

I hope this is a real business, not yet another unsustainable uneconomic whim.

**mwilbert** · May-09-12, 08:34 PM

Originally Posted by Det_ard

Does it make business sense to fish farm in the North where you have to pay for heat during the winter? Why not just locate in the South like most other fish farms. Transport can't be more expensive than heating a drafty old detroit warehouse. Unless this is just a demonstration project or someone's personal flyer.

I hope this is a real business, not yet another unsustainable uneconomic whim.

I have no idea if it is economic, but it isn't inherently silly. Heating a building doesn't have to be at all expensive, especially if you don't need a lot of non-south-facing windows. You also need to run a bunch of machinery which will generate a fair bit of heat. New Alchemy on Cape Cod grew tilapia more than 30 years ago in solar greenhouses with no external heat supply at all.

**compn** · May-10-12, 11:24 AM

there are indoor fish farms in buildings already. some also run the fish waste into hydroponic lettuce farms on the same property. heres an article about it http://www.laidofflounge.com/2011/02...a-catchy-idea/ . heres a video of the farm in wisconsin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIWuFbCcEtM . so being in the north doesnt affect it too much.

**old guy** · May-10-12, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by mwilbert

The other thing I didn't see in that op-ed was a plan to deal with the tilapia waste. It can be used as fertilizer for plants, but to do that you need some plants. For 5 million tilapia, you need a whole lot of plants.

Fish waste can be almost as profitable as the fish are. With the huge upsurge in organic farming/gardening, it's a great resource for fertilizer.