University of Florida’s aquaculture lab in Ruskin focuses on keeping fish farms successful

RUSKIN, Fla. - In Hillsborough and Polk counties, there are higher concentrations of fish farms compared to anywhere else in the U.S. One facility is dedicated to making sure that industry remains a success.

At the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory, it’s all about fish farmers and maintaining a health ecosystem in the state of Florida. The facility has been in Ruskin for about two decades and was built to cater to the ornamental fish production industry in the Sunshine State.

Tropical fish farming is big business for Hillsborough and Polk counties, and the Tropical Aquaculture Lab has a core mission of helping solve problems and create opportunities for this unique industry.

"For the most part its freshwater. We have about a hundred producers within the state and most of those are going to be freshwater producers," explained Eric Cassiano, assistant extension scientist. "We have some plants as well but when you think about it in the world of aquaculture, Florida is known for its diversity."

"When you have a fish tank at home," he added, "you have many different kinds of fish, many different types of plants. That’s really our accent and what we are known for in the aquaculture."

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There is a broad amount of things they do here. They try to help with any research needs or even beyond research. They try to help producers with energy efficiency too.

Scientists here are also studying all sorts of species in efforts of supporting farmers and the overall ecosystem of our state.