WHEN BLUE IS GREEN: SUSTAINABLE BLUE FOOD SYSTEMS DRIVEN BY INTEGRATED AQUAPONICS

The overarching goal of this Purdue University-led SAS project is to increase local and regional production of adequate, nutritious, and affordable blue foods with a minimal environmental footprint to ultimately diversify US agricultural systems and dietary patterns. Our transdisciplinary and cross-institutional team will implement an integrated approach to engage stakeholders across the blue food supply chains (BFSC) to: 1) evaluate and pilot azero-waste, grid-independent, and economically viable aquaponics system; and, 2) generate an evidence-based vision and framework for facilitating the adoption of aquaponics. We will drive local/regional BFSC with a novel integrated aquaponics FPS (IAFPS).Overall, our team will partner with stakeholders to drive the research agenda (Obj. 1) and our research insights (Obj. 2 & 3) will be translated through Extension programming to meet the diverse audience along the BFSC (Obj. 4) and through secondary and undergraduate education for the next generation (Obj. 5).Objective 1: Partner with diverse stakeholders to identify barriers and opportunities for blue foods and aquaponicsObjective 2: Design, construct, and evaluate a resilient and sustainable FPS that integrates aquaponics with microalgae cultivation, anaerobic digestion, and biorefining processesObjective 3: Assess economic and environmental performance of IAFPS and develop evidence-based management practices and business modelsObjective 4: Engage with stakeholders to support aquaponics and blue food market developmentObjective 5: Create, pilot, and publish education materials to foster a workforce prepared to support BFSC