Aquaculture and Pond Management
Overview
1. OVERVIEW
Aquaculture and Pond Management are vital programs at Virginia State, providing producers and other stakeholders with resources and support primarily for freshwater aquaculture and outdoor pond management. These programs advance VSU’s mission of teaching, extension, and research through supporting sustainable, practical, and economically efficient forms of aquaculture and pond management. These programs focus on hands-on learning and demonstration to directly support stakeholders, providing student and youth education, strengthening aquaculture networks across the state, as well as improve production through applied research.
AQUACULTURE
Virginia State University currently operates several different aquaculture systems and facilities, which include 57 outdoor ponds (1/16th – 1/4th acre in size), an indoor hatchery, indoor and outdoor Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), as well as a fish processing and demonstration kitchen. Fish and other aquatic organisms grown at VSU are primarily freshwater and include hybrid striped bass, channel catfish, largemouth bass, bluegill, freshwater prawn, rainbow trout, as well as Tilapia.
POND MANAGEMENT
With an estimated 80,000 ponds existing in Virginia, the pond management programming seeks to provide critical and practical resources to producers and other stakeholders to aid in effective and environmentally sound management of these pond resources.
2. PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES
AQUACULTURE PROGRAM
Aquaculture Outreach and Technical Assistance
The overall objective of VSU’s Aquaculture program is to demonstrate current, relevant, and integrated aquaculture production technologies, provide student and youth educational opportunities, as well as support the production of commercially important fish species that currently include striped bass, channel catfish, and tilapia.
Youth Fishing Program
Fish On! is a youth fishing program where we invite youth to Randolph Farm to learn fishing skills and get real fishing experience. This program also works with VCE extension agents to provide supplies and support for their fishing programs. Please reach out to James Hill for more information about Fish On!.
Channel Catfish Fingerling Production
VSU’s Aquaculture program is currently working with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) to supply channel catfish across the state of VA. On Randolph Farm, channel catfish are bred, eggs are collected and hatched, and the baby fish are raised to fingerlings. The channel catfish fingerlings will then be stocked in VA waterways by DWR to keep stocks healthy for the environment and anglers. VSU’s Aquaculture program plans to have workshops in the future to teach farmers how they can raise channel catfish themselves and make a profit doing so.
Aquaculture Resources
- Aquaculture Factsheets
- Aquaculture Workshops
POND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Pond Management Outreach and Technical Assistance
VSU’s Pond Management program is currently looking for a Specialist to lead the program, so there are no active workshops or programs running at the moment. We are still happy to provide any technical assistance regarding pond management to the citizens of VA. Please reach out to James Hill with any pond management questions you might have.
If you are interested in attending a pond management workshop, there are some Virginia Cooperative Extension agents running pond management workshops on a yearly basis. Please check with your local county agent for more details (https://ext.vt.edu/). VSU also has recordings of previous pond management workshops on its YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@VirginiaCooperativeExtension.
Pond Management Resources
- Pond Management Factsheets
- Pond Management Webinars
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