Virginia Shrimp Farm's Pilot Facility at Blue Ridge Aquaculture (BRA) presents a unique opportunity for production-scale research that will open up new possibilities for environmentally responsible inland aquaculture. BRA is providing an estimated $3 million to construct the 30,000 square foot facility in Martinsville, Virginia. Financial contributions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund grants for Virginia Tech researchers. This facility is designed to show proof of concept; when successful, additional shrimp production units will be built to utilize the full wastewater output of the tilapia production facility, extracting the heat energy and nutrient content of the wastewater before releasing it to the municipal system. The possibility of adding shrimp to the existing tilapia operation will yield a wiser use of resources, produce a second saleable product, and concomitantly reduce waste products. This type of innovation may some day reduce fishing pressures on the oceans of the world.

The research will include nutritional feed trials, methods to optimize production in tanks, and development of a hatchery. Dr. Daniel Holliman (VA Tech) is exploring the potential human pathogens that the aquaculture facility could harbor. In this way, he will help safeguard the safety of both aquaculture workers and consumers of the aquaculture product.