Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative

Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms in both coastal and inland areas involving interventions in the rearing process to enhance production.

Sustainable aquaculture is the ability to raise and harvest food-fish without degrading or depleting the environment, in a manner that is economically competitive, and in a manner that can be sustained indefinitely.  

Responsibly managed aquaculture can provide growers with a livelihood and produce a nutrient-rich protein source that can help feed the world while not negatively affecting the environment. 

The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC) seeks to help Great Lakes region fish farmers develop businesses that meet the following criteria:

• Economic sustainability means that a fish business is economically viable indefinitely or for a prolonged period of time.
• Environmental sustainability means that a fish business actively protects the environment. This includes an operation that does not release pollutants, does not deplete or destroy natural resources, and does not (un)intentionally introduce fish or pathogens or other species into public and other waters.
• Social sustainability means that fish businesses are good neighbors and actively contribute to the health and well-being of their communities. This includes fair wages, safe working conditions, and workforce diversity.

Why aquaculture? Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing food sectors worldwide. Although people have cultivated aquatic species for thousands of years it was not until relatively recently that farm-raised products accounted for more than 50% of seafood consumed by people. When the volume of wild-caught fish began to level off in the late 1980s, aquaculture was seen as a means of fulfilling a need for protein. The aquaculture industry continues to grow as the need for protein increases and as people seek safe, local, and sustainable food systems to provide food for a global population that is estimated to reach nine billion people by 2050.

The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative supports Sea Grant's mission to enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources in order to create a sustainable economy and environment. The project’s primary goal is to provide relevant, science-based initiatives that support an environmentally responsible, competitive, and sustainable aquaculture industry in the Great Lakes region.

The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC) serves aquaculture businesses and fish farmers throughout the Great Lakes through mass media, targeted communications, email lists, and state advisory groups.

Target audiences for this project include aquaculture producers, consumers, and fish/seafood marketers in the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois-Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York. Details are on the GLAC website. 

The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative is funded by a three-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Sea Grant Office.

• GLAC 1.0 began September 1, 2019, and ends August 31, 2023.
• GLAC 2.0 began September 1, 2022, and ends August 31, 2024.

2025

• March 2025: A new Sea Grant publication, Aquaculture Regulation in the Great Lakes, breaks down complex legal frameworks and provides practical insights to help aquaculture producers understand and navigate state and regional requirements with greater confidence. It was developed by the National Sea Grant Law Center in partnership with the Minnesota Sea Grant-led Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative.
• March 2025: GLAC project lead Amy Schrank presented her talks, “Advancing the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative” and “The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative as a community of practice,” at the 2025 Aquaculture America conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• March 2025: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative supported the Indiana Aquaculture Association annual meeting and the Eastern Fish Health Workshop.
• February 2025: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative supported the Wisconsin Aquaculture Association conference.

2024

• Winter 2024: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative supported the joint Wisconsin/Minnesota aquaculture association meeting and the Ohio Aquaculture Association meeting. In addition, GLAC supported the travel of 14 K-12 students and five undergraduate students, and early career farmers to travel to this meeting. We also supported the travel of four students and early career farmers to the Aquaculture Association meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

2023

• Fall 2023: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative is working to develop a new website that will continue to provide information for potential aquaculture producers and will also aim to engage consumers, educators and the public to share information about aquaculture in the Great Lakes region.
• Fall 2023. The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative is working on developing educational materials about aquaculture aimed at state agencies, policy makers and legislators. The goal is to inform these groups about the potential for successful aquaculture and aquaponics businesses in both rural and urban underserved areas, and information about how these groups can engage with and support the aquaculture industry in their state.
• Fall 2023: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative is offering travel funding for students, current and potential aquaculture producers, and aquaculture speakers. Recipients of this award must identify as part of an underrepresented group including, but not limited to, age, race, ethnicity, income, location, or beginning aquaculture farmer.
• September 2023: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative held an in-person meeting and networking session at the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network Meeting in Evanston, Illinois.
• August 2023: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative hosted a symposium entitled “Fish Farming in the Great Lakes Region: Hatcheries, Private Farms, and Partnerships” at the 153rd Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• June 2023: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative showcased seafood from the Great Lakes region by organizing a booth to serve local seafood at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Sustainable Seafood Celebration event in Washington, D.C., on June 7, 2023. NOAA hosted more than 700 people at this event to showcase seafood from around the United States.
• Spring 2023: All of the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC) state Sea Grant programs convened their state advisory groups.
• May 2023: The Minnesota Sea Grant Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative project team convened their regional advisory group.
• The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative continues to meet monthly.
• The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative has a dedicated website with current events, advisory group members, research summaries, presentation recordings, and more.
• All Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC) Sea Grant programs are working to convene their state advisory groups during spring 2023 to receive feedback about GLAC activities and gather input as we advance GLAC over the next two years.
• The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC) is working to develop a new GLAC website.
• February 2023: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC) presented results from and plans for the next two years of the GLAC project at the 2023 Aquaculture America Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the 2023 North Central Aquaculture Conference in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
• February 2023: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative sponsored and helped organize the 2023 North Central Aquaculture Conference jointly hosted by the Minnesota and Wisconsin aquaculture associations in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
• The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC) has developed a plan for the next iteration of GLAC to continue providing support of sustainable aquaculture in the Great Lakes region.

2022

• November 2022: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative hosted and recorded the webinar "Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative Research Roundup: Regional Findings and Insights."
• October 2022: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative received an additional two years of funding from the National Sea Grant Office which extends the project to 2024.
• October 2022: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative hosted Great Lakes Aquaculture Days 2022, a two-day event focused on fish health. This was a hybrid (virtual and in-person) event hosted simultaneously in seven states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The event featured talks from around the Great Lakes region and an in-person, expert-led fish health dissection demonstration in each state. Attendees participated in this hands-on dissection as well as other in-person talks and tours; all participants received a dissection kit and digital microscope to take home with them.
• May 2022: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative hosted and recorded the webinar "Finding Fish for Food or Fun: Exploring the Great Lakes Fresh Fish Finder."

2021

• August 31-September 2, 2021: The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC) hosted Great Lakes Aquaculture Days 2021. This event provided virtual tours of six different aquaculture production facilities in the Great Lakes region. Each tour was followed by a Q&A session with the farm owner. The videos of the six tours are available on the GLAC website.