$70,000 AWARDED TO BUILD AQUACULTURE CENTER

Samoa, CA- The vote is in for the Redwood Region Economic Development commission. They’re set to receive $70,000 for an aquaculture center in Samoa. the development of this project has been talked about for a number of years now, however this grant has taken organizers to the next level.   The aquaculture center will house an innovated way of growing seafood through a process called Aquaponics. Dan Berman is the Conservation Director for the Humboldt Bay Harbor District and he told us, "Producing more food locally is always good of course...and Aquaponics can be a useful way to do that."   Berman has been working with the organizers to help this project get started in Samoa. And tells us, “There’s fresh water coming in, there’s all this vacant land and so this seems like a great business opportunity."   Aquaponics works by recycling water through a closed loop system. Water used to grow seafood will be circulated to grow vegetables and then sent back to the fish. Don Ehnebuske, the RREDC executive director told us, “Part of the project is to figure out which species to particularly well out here. And figure out how we could commercialize the project."   Ehenbuske is the person who received the grant from the headwaters fund. He says there a huge demand for aqua culture products, “Right now we import 85 percent from other countries.”   Organizers are still in the pilot phase of this project, however the center hopes to grow both freshwater and salt water species of plants and animals, including abalone.