Research HighlightsIntegrated Aquaculture: Creating Synergy and Soybean Demand
In this article, you’ll find details on:
- A fully integrated aquaculture production system based on current technology could allow the U.S. to competitively produce profitable, sustainable fish and seafood.
- Domestic aquaculture could significantly increase the demand for soybeans as a feed ingredient.
By Laura Temple
U.S. farmers produce protein incredibly efficiently.
- Soybeans produced in the U.S. have a lower carbon footprint compared to soy of other origins.
- Globally, the U.S. is a top-three producer by volume of beef, dairy, pork and poultry, according to USDA data.
- The U.S. leads in global tree nut production — especially almonds, walnuts and pistachios — based on the International Nut & Dried Fruit Council’s statistical yearbook.
However, the U.S. lags in the production of one major protein category: fish and seafood.
“The U.S. aquaculture industry is fragmented and not nearly as efficient as it could be,” says Jesse Chappell, retired Auburn University professor. He has both worked and taught in the aquaculture industry for more than 50 years. “In fact, the U.S. imports about 90% of the fish and seafood we consume.”
Recognized internationally as an aquaculture production expert, Chappell has been pondering ways to improve domestic aquaculture for years. He led a team to study and outline what integrated, efficient fish and seafood production in the U.S. could become, thanks to support from the national soy checkoff through the Soy Aquaculture Alliance.
“Our fish and seafood production has been limited by factors like geography and climate,” he says. “But what would it look like to combine current aquaculture technology with principles from other U.S. protein industries?”
He envisions a scalable recirculating system that creates synergy and value at every step, making U.S. aquaculture globally competitive, much like it is in pork and poultry production.
“By fitting together existing technology in one entity at one location, domestic aquaculture could harness the competitive advantages of the U.S.,” Chappell says.
To develop a realistic working outline, complete with economics, his team focused on tilapia production, a tropical fish. However, he notes that the plan can be adapted for other species. Based on economic and logistical analysis, the team recommends locating integrated aquaculture operations in southern states, between eastern North Carolina and southeast Texas.
Feeding Fish — with Soy
Chappell’s integrated concept starts with the feed grains that produce aquafeed at a feed mill, which is the largest ongoing expense for aquaculture operations. He notes that the bulk of protein in many types of feed comes from soybeans.
In addition to soybean meal or soy protein concentrate, aquaculture diets can include whole corn and corn products, as well as wheat products. The feed mill at the foundation of an integrated aquaculture operation would create a local market for these ingredients to consistently produce high-quality feed.
According to team calculations, a feed mill that produces about 20,000 tons of feed per year would support raising about 30 million pounds of fish. Integrating a feed mill onsite with fish production could save more than $400,000 per year in feed drying costs.
“Our calculations are for a feed mill running a single shift,” Chappell explains. “However, adding a second shift would support a doubling in feed production to support expansion of fish production with minimal additional investment.”
Production and Processing
Next to the feed mill, Chappell and his team recommend building indoor production tanks for every stage of fish development, from a hatchery and nursery through grow-out to harvest.
Reliable current technology for recirculating tank-based aquaculture production controls the environment to be ideal for fish growth and health.
“Tanks allow a U.S. aquaculture operation to create a 12-month growing cycle,” he explains. “It’s similar to the concepts used for broilers and swine, and it’s highly productive.”
The team recommended creating barns holding 18 tanks, each 40 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep. Recirculating technology would manage the tanks in groups of six to deliver feed and clean the water. With proper insulation, the tanks and barns can be designed to minimize heat loss and maximize energy efficiency.
The integrated system places tanks for different growth stages next to each other, so that fish can be pumped from location to another. Such technology would also carry fish to the on-site processing facility. This eliminates transportation costs common in current U.S. aquaculture systems.
“The on-site processing plant can be customized to produce a variety of products, from packaged fillets to gutted, head-on fish,” Chappell says. “Incorporating as much automation as possible would support employee productivity and ROI.”
Adding Value with Byproducts
In this type of system, much of the synergy comes from collecting and reusing all byproducts to add value to the bottom line. Chappell’s team detailed the logistics and economics of capturing and using byproducts from both the fish growth barns and the processing facility.
The team recommends using slurry waste from the fish tank barns as fertilizer to irrigate high-value crops grown on land within the integrated complex.
“This approach turns nutrients into cash crops like vegetables or bermudagrass hay,” Chappell explains. “Our outline includes a greenhouse that would produce crops like tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers year-round, while 250 acres could grow summer crops like tomatoes or watermelon in the summer and winter crops like cabbage or collards.”
The byproducts from the processing plant could be managed and marketed to be used in much more than crab and crawfish bait. Chappell describes demand for fish byproducts in pet foods, industrial processing and organic fertilizers.
However, for any materials that have little value in other markets, Chappell and team recommend using a novel process developed at Auburn University. The Agricultural By-product Value Recovery System, or ABVRS, dries unusable waste.
“ABVRS technology would create high-quality fish meal and fish oil,” he says. “The process creates no wastewater, smell or dust, and flash drying doesn’t raise the product temperature high enough to compromise its protein quality.”
Stimulating Economics and Soybean Demand
One fully integrated aquaculture operation as described by Chappell’s team would cover about 2,000 acres and create between 350 and 400 jobs. Doubling production capacity by adding a second shift to the feed mill would add another 100 jobs.
“Our economic analysis shows that the initial investment would be significant — nearly $210 million,” he says. “However, we calculated the ROI at 41% for the first phase, and 43% when doubling capacity.”
He believes that this type of system would allow the U.S. to competitively produce fish and seafood, reducing reliance on imports. He notes that geopolitical factors are constantly changing, and that a competitive aquaculture sector would add stability for this market.
Growing aquaculture production in the U.S. would also increase soybean demand.
“To replace just 10% of the fish and seafood we import with domestically produced aquaculture, we estimate that we would need another Illinois’s worth of soybean production,” Chappell says.
That’s a soybean demand increase of about 649 million bushels, the state’s current 5-year average.
“This integrated aquaculture system is practical, profitable and sustainable,” he adds. “I believe this could become another type of protein produced incredibly efficiently here in the U.S.”
Additional Resources
Soy Aquaculture Alliance website
Fish N’ More: Fish+’s Greener Score – PDF publication
Improving Sustainability and Cost Effectiveness of Soy-Based Aquaculture Diets – SRIN article
Kentucky Researcher Works to Improve Soy Meal as Feed for Commercially Raised Fish – SRIN article
Soy-Based Feeds Critical Part of Plans for Offshore Aquaculture Operation in Florida – SRIN article
Published: Jul 21, 2025
The materials on SRIN were funded with checkoff dollars from United Soybean Board and the North Central Soybean Research Program. To find checkoff funded research related to this research highlight or to see other checkoff research projects, please visit the National Soybean Checkoff Research Database.
