LANSING – Despite being surrounded by the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, Michigan imports the vast majority of its seafood, between 65% and 90%, according to Michigan Sea Grant.
As global aquaculture has grown to meet increasing demand for protein, a small but determined group of inland fish farmers in the Great Lakes region are building a more sustainable, local supply. Researchers say doing so could ease pressure on wild populations, create jobs in rural areas and help restore public trust in the food on their plates.
But with high regulatory costs, limited consumer awareness and strong competition from imports, these farms face an uphill swim.
Aquaculture, also known as fish farming, has grown rapidly worldwide. The World Economic Forum reports that farm-raised fish now account for about 49% of the global supply. But in the Great Lakes and across much of the United States, the industry remains limited.
One of Michigan’s most prominent inland fish farms is Spring Valley Trout Farm in Dexter, where three generations of the Kaercher family have raised rainbow trout and catfish since 1970.
“We are the largest direct-to-consumer fish farm in the Midwest for trout and catfish,” said Patrick Kaercher, who officially became a co-owner in 2025.
“People come out to our farm and bring their family, bring their picnic supplies and catch all the fish they want. We clean them for them. We raise fish from eggs and go all the way from egg to plate,” he said.
There are concerns about overfishing in the Great Lakes that are rooted in history. Major commercial fisheries for lake trout and lake herring collapsed in the 1950s and 1960s due to a combination of overfishing, invasive species and habitat loss.
While wild fisheries are more strictly regulated today, experts say inland aquaculture offers a way to sustainably meet consumer demand without putting further pressure on native populations.
The fish at Spring Valley are raised in spring water that flows naturally onto the property year-round. Some fish spend their entire lives in the farm’s ponds, and others are raised from eggs in a recirculating aquaculture system and transferred to the ponds later.
The farm uses a system of raceways, long and narrow flow-through tanks, to move fish from one pond to another, and the raceways are flushed weekly to remove waste.
“We use high protein, the very best fish meal available, and there’s very little waste,” said Jim Kaercher, Patrick’s father and the farm’s founder. “The beauty of our trout is that we can get about a 1.6 to 1 feed conversion ratio, meaning that for every 1.6 pounds of feed we put in, we get a pound of meat back. That’s far better than beef or cattle.”
This compares to research from the University of Illinois that places the average feed conversion ratio for cattle between 5.5 and 7.5 to 1.
Spring Valley also emphasizes its environmental safeguards. Its ponds are disconnected from surrounding water systems, which prevents farmed fish from escaping into the wild. The farm is also subject to periodic inspections by state regulators.
There are multiple types of aquaculture systems. Among the most debated are offshore “net-pen” operations, where fish are raised in open mesh cages anchored in natural waters. These are used on the Canadian side of Lake Huron but banned in U.S. Great Lakes waters.
“There’s a big difference if we’re talking about U.S. aquaculture or another country’s aquaculture,” said Lauren Stigers, an Extension educator with Michigan Sea Grant and Michigan State University. “In the U.S., we have very stringent regulations for aquaculture, which helps to reduce a lot of the risks.”
Risks include escapes, disease transmission and nutrient pollution. Stigers said that while net-pen systems can be efficient, the regulatory burden and public concern have kept them out of Michigan.
“While we do have stringent regulations to help keep the environment safe, it’s limiting the amount that people want to try or make it economically feasible to have a farm, inland or offshore,” she said. “You’re paying so much money toward regulations and keeping compliant, but you’re fighting imports too.”
“And if you can’t meet that bottom line, it’s not economically feasible,” she said.
In contrast to net-pens, most Michigan aquaculture operations use ponds or raceways. A few have also experimented with recirculating aquaculture systems, closed-loop setups that filter and reuse water.
“We can manage our waste and control it,” Jim Kaercher said. “The waste settles into a pit that we pump out weekly and we actually use it as fertilizer on the farm.”
There are around 30 aquaculture farms in Michigan raising roughly two dozen species. But the number of farms is declining.
“It’s a very small but mighty industry,” said Stigers. “Unfortunately, it’s actually decreasing in size.”
She pointed to high startup costs, regulatory challenges and limited public knowledge as barriers. Most people, she said, can picture a dairy farm. Fewer understand what a fish farm looks like or how it operates.
While inland farmers like the Kaerchers want to change that, they also acknowledge the challenges ahead.
“It’s a dying breed,” Patrick Kaercher said. “I’m one of the only third-generation people taking over a farm in Michigan.”
“I know so many farms that are closing up shop or just being sold off, and it’s something that I would love to see more people taking over and continuing, because it’s such a great resource,” he added.
Still, there are signs of economic promise.
A May 2025 study published in Aquaculture International and co-authored by Stigers estimated that every new aquaculture job in Michigan could generate more than $124,000 in statewide economic output. In rural counties like Alcona and Delta, that figure still exceeds $60,000 per job.
The research concluded that expanding Michigan’s aquaculture sector could boost employment, support local food production and increase community resilience, particularly in rural and coastal areas.
Both the Kaerchers and Stigers say that with greater investment and more public understanding, inland aquaculture can become a stronger part of Michigan’s food future — not just a niche for recreation, but a real contributor to economic and ecological sustainability.
“There are so many advancements that have been made,” Patrick Kaercher said. “Whether it’s recirculating aquaculture systems or horticulture, I think fish should be feeding the entire world.”
This story was reported for Great Lakes Now in a partnership with Capital News Service, the Mott Foundation and MSU’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
