Purdue University

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Blue Food (seafood) Can Provide More Nutritional Benefits and Be Produced More Sustainably Than Land-based Foods; However, Approximately 90% of Seafood Consumed in the Us Comes From Abroad, Resulting in $17B Trade Deficit. Aquaponics Intensively Produces a Diverse Array of Nutritious Blue Foods and Specialty Crops, But This Emerging Food Production System Faces Intertwined Technical, Economic, and Environmental Challenges That Are the Main Barriers to Its Wide Adoption. the Overarching Hypotheses of This Purdue University-led Project Are: 1) Integrating Aquaponics With Microalgae Cultivation, Anaerobic Digestion and Biorefining Can Fully Utilize Nutrients and Produce Energy and High-value Bioproducts; and, 2) Integrating Research With Extension and Education Will Increase Adoption of Aquaponics and Consumer Willingness to Purchase Blue Foods. Specific Project Objectives Include: 1) Identifying Barriers and Opportunities for Blue Food and Aquaponics; 2) Building a Novel, Integrated, Aquaponics Food Production System; 3) Developing Multi-dimensional Sustainability Metrics for System Assessment and Management; 4) Support Aquaponics and Blue Food Industry and Market Development; and, 5) Creating Blue Food-related Education Materials. This Project Is Expected to Build a Zero-waste, Grid-independent, and Economically Viable Food Production System, and Generate an Evidence-based Vision and Framework for Facilitating the Adoption of Aquaponics. This Novel Integrated Aquaponics System Can Increase Local and Regional Production of Adequate, Nutritious, and Affordable Blue Foods With a Minimal Environmental Footprint, Ultimately Diversifying Us Agricultural Systems and Dietary Patterns.