USSEC organized a trip to China to showcase that country’s successful In Pond Raceway System (IPRS) installations for different species as part of USSEC’s 2019 Global In Pond Raceway Learning Mission from August 5 to 9. The trip was organized for aquaculture producers from Turkey, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Colombia, and Pakistan with a very good representation of the industry. The group travelled to Beijing, Nanjing, and their provinces.
During the trip, participants were able to see IPRS installments for different species of fish and different farms sizes. The farms they were visited implemented IPRS systems very successfully while protecting the environment. The farmers also informed participants that they were able to greatly increase their profitability after they implemented IPRS systems in their farms. They also added that they will continue to build new IPRS cells on their farms to increase capacity and profitability.
Three participants from Turkey took part in this trip, representing farms for three main species (trout, sea bass and sea bream) from two private aquaculture integrations and one government representative to support the farmers in their projects and use IPRS concept in government aquaculture projects for the growth of the Turkish aquaculture industry.
The two largest Turkish aquaculture producers and a government representative who attended USSEC’s IPRS learning mission are starting 2 IPRS projects in Turkey with the support of the government. Before the end of the trip, the Turkish fish farmers and government representative, together with USSEC Country Representative – Turkey Sirri Kayhan, contacted USSEC consultant, IPRS author, and Auburn University professor Dr. Jesse Chappell to pay a visit to Turkey soon and help them to start one project in trout and another focusing on marine in earthen ponds. Dr. Chappell informed them that he will be visiting Turkey in October and will work with them closely.
During the trip, Joe Enhua from USSEC China arranged a meeting for the Turkish participants with a fish trader for Turkish farmers to export fish to China. This will help the farmers to open a new and large market for their production.
USSEC’s IPRS systems will fit the needs of the growth of the Turkish aquaculture industry because of the limited water source. The IPRS system can be applicable for the current aquaculture production and it will fit very well for especially trout, earthen ponds, sea bass, and sea bream farms, and will support the increase of the capacity of the farms. The IPRS system with the support of the government will help the growth of the Turkish aquaculture industry as well as increase the consumption of U.S. Soy.