State Fair exhibit details, including July 27 Fish Friday

[Paul Trudeau]

From CAA's website:  

The California Aquaculture Association’s Fish Experience is an exciting and interactive exhibit located in “The Farm” at the California State Fair. The exhibit includes a wide selection of aquatic life raised by fish and shellfish producers in California, who pursue their craft in almost all of the state’s 58 counties, resulting in over 60 different species of aquatic life, provided to many customers – from seafood, to recreational fishermen, to disease-control public agencies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

A new, exciting addition to the experience will be a series of backyard-scale “aquaponics” systems, which combine fish culture with soil-less plant culture (“hydroponics”), in a recirculating loop of water flow, with each complementing the nutrient and water treatment needs of the other. Visitors will learn how they can set up similar systems of their own, incorporating fish and experience obtained from local growers.

Species on display range from the tiny mosquito fish, raised to combat the spread of disease-causing insects, to the huge sturgeon that occupy an immense tank located front and center in the exhibit. Visitors are invited to reach in and touch the gentle giants that are grown to produce caviar that’s rated among the world’s finest. Don’t be surprised if one of them gives you a playful splash.

Also on display are catfish, carp, bass, and crayfish, as well as young hatchery fish like sturgeon, guppies, and bluegill.

The California Aquaculture Exhibit features:

- A giant tank of juvenile sturgeon, three to four feet long, with handy steps to make it easy to get up close and personal.

- A series of large tanks of California’s most common game fish, including largemouth bass, catfish and carp.

- Children’s tanks with crayfish, frogs, and juvenile fish, all just waiting for the kids to touch.

- Aquariums with examples of mosquito fish and other species used to keep those pesky bugs in check.

- Aquaponics New This Year: Aquaponics displays, featuring the integration of fish and plant culture in the same system! Visitors will be invited to see how they can become backyard fish and vegetable growers, using many of the same techniques as the professionals.

- Fish Friday: July 27th, will feature local chefs and culinary programs demonstrating how to prepare and enjoy tasty dishes, incorporating fish & shellfish that are grown here in California. Located in the Dirt to Dish demonstration kitchen, at the entrance to The Farm, this event is a popular one – so don’t be late if you want a shady seat and something great to eat! For an agenda and more information about Fish Friday please click here.

For directions please click here.  For general fair information please click here.

FACTS:

The award-winning California Aquaculture Exhibit has been a favorite exhibit at “The Farm” for years, providing education and information in a fun and interactive setting.

The California Aquaculture Association is a statewide organization representing the farmers who grow things in water and all of those who work with them. The association has members throughout the state who raise some 67 different species of plants and animals. Producers range from those who raise shellfish (oysters, clams, abalone) in our estuaries and along our coasts, to trout farmers in Northern California, to catfish and tilapia growers in the Imperial and Central Valleys.

Aquaculturists are critical providers of fish, shellfish, and plants for recreational fishing, seafood, ornamental fish for ponds and aquariums, even algae for biofuel production, just to name a few of the many, varied markets.

As wild stocks decline and consumer demand for fresh, wholesome seafood increases, California’s producers are embracing the opportunity to meet the needs and surpass the expectations of a discerning public. Fully half of American seafood demand is now met by aquaculture, yet much of that supply comes from overseas. With attention to local production of food becoming more important to consumers, California’s aquaculture producers have heard the call.

Trebling it farm-gate value since 1990, California aquaculturists are responding to a fiercely competitive global marketplace and rigorous regulatory requirement with ingenuity and resourcefulness, consistently pioneering new husbandry technology.