Lyons Fisheries - Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and

Lyons Fisheries
Presents
Three Little Fishes
A Freshwater Prawn
and Fish Farm Story
Welcome to Lyons Fisheries
Mission Statement
The mission of Lyons Fisheries is to
provide targeted consumers high quality,
fresh and freshly-frozen fish and shellfish
in consistent quantities on a timely basis at
competitive prices.
Our Motto
Quality is our Business
Executive Summary
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Lyons Fisheries of
Sandoval, is an
aquaculture enterprise
nestled in Southern IL.
LF is a sole proprietorship
and has been in
existence since March of
1999, starting as a hobby.
LF is owned and
operated by JC & Brenda
Lyons. Other manpower
is provided by five
seasonal part-time
helpers.
Production
” LF
utilizes a quality
controlled
environment (RAS) or
Recirculating
Aquaculture System
as well as earthen
ponds in the
reproduction and
rearing of fish and
shellfish.
Figure 1. One of the Prawn Nursery Tanks at LF that will also be used
for tilapia.
Products
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LF offers juvenile
prawns for pondstocking; prawn
broodstock; fresh
prawns during harvest
and frozen prawn tails
year-round.
LF also sells rainbow
trout, catfish fillets,
and crawfish (when in
season).
Air-02 Aspirator Aerator
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LF markets the Air-02
aspirator aerators used in
the production ponds for
improved dissolved
oxygen and water quality
management.
We also sell SFPGA
cookbooks “I Gotta Have
That Cookbook”, which
features prawn handling
tips, health benefits, and
mouth-watering recipes.
Services
 LF
provides consulting and technical service
 Group and individual tours
 Education Displays
Agri-Tourism
 Trout
Fishing
Experience
 Speaking
engagements
 Harvest Festivals
 Donate live prawns
for Conservation Fairs
& Student Ag Days
Niche Market
Lyons Fisheries currently has a prawn
hatchery & nursery, and supplies seed
stock to farms in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana
and Wisconsin. LF also ships baby
prawns to schools and businesses for
aquaculture projects.
LF sells Fresh From The Farm during
harvests & fishing days and frozen
products year-round.
Location
Lyons Fisheries
location is perfectly
nestled in Southern
Illinois within thirty
five minutes of three
Interstates and five
minutes of two US
major highways.
Vicinity
Our farm is easily
accessible and within
an hour and a half
drive from Effingham,
Vincennes and
Evansville Indiana,
Marion, Carbondale,
Fairview Heights and
St. Louis.
History & Milestones
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In March of 1999 JC
& I decided to start an
aquaculture project as
a hobby.
We visited other
aquaculture facilities,
did research,
attended aquaculture
classes, conferences
& meetings.
Construction
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We began the
planning process of
our aquaculture
facility.
Purchased the Family
Farm.
Then we started
construction on a topnotch aquaculture
business.
Reinventing the Family Farm
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In 1993 we received our
first SARE grant which
allowed us to construct a
prawn hatchery in the
hayloft of the unused
dairy barn.
Being able to hatch our
own prawn increased
production, revenue, and
employment. It will
eventually increase
production through
contracts with other
family farm operations.
Hatchery
Customers
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We then developed
our ideas and worked
hard toward our
goals.
We built up our
customer base that
includes locals that
buy fresh & frozen
seafood, as well as
growers in multiple
states buying seed
stock.
Leadership
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We became very
involved in
aquaculture and
aquaculture
associations.
Before we knew it,
JC & I had
assumed roles as
leaders in the
industry.
Networking & Technical Support
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Networking is essential
to our farm operation.
We need the
resources & technical
support offered
through major
universities.
It has been our lifeline
to develop
relationships and
continue networking
with US researchers.
Education
Z We
provide education
& information through
tours, speaking
engagements, and
displays set up at the
Golconda Shrimp
Fest, DuQuoin State
Fair, festivals, and
local harvests.
Information
LF disseminates
information through
state aquaculture
associations,
Aquaculture
Conferences, and the
Shawnee Freshwater
Prawn Growers
Association Website.
Great Publicity
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Lyons Fisheries has had
numerous articles and
stories written about our
unique enterprise.
We have hosted
students, educators,
future fish & shrimp
farmers, girl scouts, and
curious customers.
LF seafood is accepted
in the community as a
fresh and healthy food
source.
Three Little Fishes
™ The
realization that we
were not using our
resources to their full
potential, gave us the
idea to write our 1994
SARE grant, Three
Little Fishes, which
adds fish production to
our now established
prawn farm.
Sustainability
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Rainbow Trout were
stocked in the prawn
production ponds during
the winter months.
Tilapia was added to the
prawn nursery tanks in
the off-season.
Cages were purchased to
add hybrid stripped bass
production to the existing
reservoir.
Illinois Consumers
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There is a demand by
environmentally
conscious consumers
for fresh, healthy,
good-tasting food
products high in
protein, low in fat &
cholesterol and
contaminate free.
Farm-Raised Products
The general
perception of farmraised products is
positive. Compared
to wild-caught
species, farm-raised
aquaculture products
are considered
fresher, higher quality
& have greater price
stability.
Sales & Marketing
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¾
LF currently sells
fresh & frozen
seafood direct from
farm to the consumer.
We have also placed
some of our products
in Produce Plus, an
established meat and
produce store in
Salem, IL that also
provides catering.
Progressive Farming
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¾
We plan to utilize our
resources to their full
potential by adding a new
species of shrimp (Pacific
Whites) and hybrid
stripped bass in the
existing reservoir.
This crucial first step calls
for the reservoir to be dug
deeper with the new pond
being constructed from
the excess clay in the
bottom of the reservoir.
Pacific White Shrimp
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PWS Grow well in tanks
& ponds
Can be stocked @ higher
densities & are noncannibalistic
Buyers for the Asian
market are looking for live
shrimp to purchase
Can alternate time in
tanks between prawns,
tilapia and shrimp
Shrimp can be grown
indoors year-round
Hybrid Stripped Bass
· 5,000
lbs of HSB can
be raised in an acre
of water
· Growing season is
one year
· Bass are live-hauled
to Chicago, New York
& Toronto
· Illinois Farmers
cannot keep up with
demand
Sustainability
Being able to
produce numerous
species of fish and
shellfish makes LF
a sustainable
aquaculture
enterprise. We can
offer a variety of
seafood that will
increase sales,
revenue, and
employment
opportunities.
Opportunity Recognition
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IL fish & shrimp farmers used
to sell their seafood to the IL
Fish Farmers Co-op in
Pinckneyville, IL.
With the demise of the
facility, farmers have lost the
resource to have their
products processed,
packaged and marketed.
LF has the idea to construct
a small on-farm processing
facility to fill the much
needed gap in the Industry.
Innovation Planning
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We as well as other
seafood producers will
benefit from having
processing available.
Brenda is trained and is
HACCP certified through
AFADO.
LF purchased equipment
from the IFFC while
closing the plant.
LF also purchased
freezers and packaging
equipment when
opportunities arise.
Bringing Innovation to Market
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¾
¾
JC & I plan to obtain the
Prairie Lands Seafood
logo formerly used by the
IFFC.
LF plans to grow with the
market, expanding our
customer base to include
small wholesalers and
food suppliers.
LF has planned to
contract with grower
partners to fulfill our
goals, expand the
Industry and help other
family farms.
Processing Operations
Operating the processing
facility has the potential to
bring in outside resources
to be processed. We plan
to process prawns and
other farm-raised fish. The
nearby proximity of Carlyle
Lake could be a resource
for commercial fishing
customers to have their fish
processed for resale.
Some Innovative Ideas from LF
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Genetically improved prawn
rearing
Sales of fertilized prawn
eggs on slides for education
Hatching post-larvae prawn
to feed penguins and other
animals at the local zoo
Produce an organic fertilizer
emulsion with fish waste
from our processing facility
Organically grow vegetables
in greenhouses using
hydroponics
Produce year-round live fish
& shrimp for the Asian
market in St. Louis
Year One
™ Modify the existing reservoir to
accommodate cage culture of HSB
™ Construct a half-acre grow-out pond for
the Pacific White Shrimp & Rainbow Trout
™ Build a HACCP certified processing facility
and begin production
™ Obtain the rights to the Prairie Lands
Seafood & Illinois Products Label
™ Establish markets in St. Louis & Chicago
By Year Three
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Construct shallow ponds for crawfish
rearing
Hire a full-time marketing / production
manager
Employ two part-time technicians
Develop LF own website
Contract with production partners
Increase Market Share
Year Five
¾ Construct 50’ X 150’ building for greater
indoor production year-round
¾ Purchase adjoining 40 acres
¾ Bore wells for additional water source
¾ Construct grow-out ponds to increase
production
¾ Add the production of Large-mouth Bass
to cultured species
Our Future is Growing
Come join us at the
Small Farm Trade
Show in Missouri this
November.
Our next harvest
festival is September
23rd & 24th. JC & I
hope to see you at
Lyons Fisheries in
Sandoval, IL.