The proposed Florida Oceanographic Aquaculture Park would be built on the site of the former Indian River Plantation water treatment plant adjacent to the Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort & Marina. Contributed photo from Florida Oceanographic Society

By Tyler Treadway

HUTCHINSON ISLAND — Where some might see an old water treatment plant in need of demolishing, Mark Perry sees fish growing to replenish area waters, scientists learning how to raise them in an environmentally sound — and even profitable — way and local students sharing in that knowledge.

Perry, the executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, and other environmental scientists and educators who make up the society’s Aquaculture Advisory Team think the Indian River Plantation utility plant on Hutchinson Island in Stuart might be the perfect place for an aquaculture facility.

During a meeting Tuesday of the Martin County Commission, Perry and the group will see if commissioners agree.

The utility plant was built to provide water and wastewater services to the condominiums and hotel at the former Indian River Plantation resort, now the Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort & Marina. Martin County bought the plant in 2009 and now provides potable water to the area from the mainland. When a lift station is completed at the site in March, wastewater will be sent to a site in Jensen Beach for treatment.

“When the plant is no longer needed,” Perry said, “rather than demolish it, why don’t we put it to a good use?”

The 7.5-acre site includes three large treatment ponds, a large water storage tank, a lab building, two freshwater wells and various pumps, generators and filtration systems, all of which, Perry said, can be put to good use with aquaculture.

“This is the perfect site for aquaculture,” Perry said, “because of the natural biodiversity of the area. The ocean and Gulfstream for marine environment, the brackish Indian River Lagoon and the St. Lucie Estuary and the freshwater St. Lucie River are all right here. Aquaculture should be as important in this state as agriculture. Because of our climate, we can grow species here that can’t grow anywhere else in the United States. But we don’t take advantage of that.”

The would-be aquaculture facility would be adjacent to the oceanographic society’s 57-acre Coastal Center, which houses the group’s headquarters, nature trails, a 750,000-gallon game fish lagoon and other environmental exhibits and education programs.

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, a division of Florida Atlantic University, has an extensive aquaculture program that includes work with marine fish, clams, oysters and native apple snails; and a private company at the site raises tropical fish.

Paul Wills, an associate research professor at Harbor Branch and a member of the advisory team for Florida Oceanographic, said researchers at the two facilities would “collaborate with each other, not compete. That’s been the idea from the beginning, that (the proposed facility) would be a good thing for the whole Treasure Coast region.”

Perry said the proposed aquaculture concept “has exciting potential, but there are a lot of details to work out.”

The biggest detail: money.

“At this point, we don’t even know how much money would be needed and where we’d get it,” Perry said. “State grants? Private funding? Money from universities that take part? To some degree the facility would be self-sustaining (through sales of fish raised there), but I doubt it would pay for itself totally.”

A lot of money would be needed, Perry said, “but at the same time, there are assets already on the property that would cost millions of dollars to build if you were starting from scratch.”

If given the go-ahead, Perry said, officials from the society and the advisory team would develop a business plan for the facility to bring back to the commission, possibly in the spring.

“If it turns out the idea isn’t as feasible as we thought, maybe because everyone is watching their pennies due to the current economy,” Perry said, “we’ll tell the commissioners that. But we think it’s at least worth a good look.”

FOUR-PRONGED APPROACH TO AQUACULTURE

The proposed aquaculture facility on Hutchinson Island would focus on four areas:

Marine fishing enhancement: Working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the facility could be used to raise sport fish such as redfish, snook and sea trout as well as the bait fish they feed on, such as striped mullet and pinfish, for stocking in area waters.

Aquaculture production and demonstration: Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, said the facility could raise — and teach others to raise — baitfish for the bait industry and tropical fish for home aquariums. “But rather than exotics, we’d focus on indigenous tropicals found both in Florida and the Caribbean,” he said. “We’re not interested in non-natives.”

Habitat restoration: Fish raised at the facility would need a suitable place to be released, Perry said, noting that research could be done on restoring marshes, mangrove swamps and seagrass beds.

Education: “Educational is the key,” Perry said. “This facility could offer everything from postgraduate programs for students universities would send here to programs for local middle schools and high schools. Plus, there’s the visitor experience that would be combined with our coastal center.”

COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

What: Representatives from Florida Oceanographic Institute and its Aquaculture Advisory Team will pitch the idea of an aquaculture facility on Hutchinson Island when the Martin County Board of Commissioners meets

When: 9 a.m. Tuesday

Where: The county Administrative Center, 2401 S.E. Monterery Road, Stuart.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 7th, 2011 at 5:56 am and is filed under environment, Hutchinson Island. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.