Ohio shrimp farmers seed with Texas broodstock

By JOHN JARVIS
The Marion Star

MOUNT GILEAD, OHIO- Raising freshwater shrimp, also known as prawns, can be a mysterious and risky venture, said Joe Ostrom.
But he, his wife, Hilary, and his in-laws have reason to be optimistic that come Friday and Saturday the mystery will be solved and the risk proven worthwhile when their business, Fisheadz LLC, holds its first shrimp harvest.
" We are putting a rocket ship into space," Joe Ostrom said, sitting in a garage at the business address of 4426 Morrow County Road 115, off of Ohio 61, a short walk from the two ponds that serve as home for the shrimp. Baitfish such as golden shiners, fathead minnows, goldfish and Israeli carp occupy four other ponds on the property 3 1/2 miles southeast of Mount Gilead.
Keeping the Ostroms and John and Marcia Lawyer and Drew and Tara Lawyer in the dark are the crustacean's eating habits, which typically keep the translucent creatures out of sight.
" They're bottom feeders," Joe Ostrom said. "You never see them."
Once the freshwater shrimp, whose taste has been described as sweeter than their saltwater counterparts, have matured for 100 days, the family expects to net and sell 800 to 1,000 pounds of the popular seafood, which they said is the average yield. At $9 per pound live weight, that's between $7,200 and $9,000 in sales expected for a $25,000 initial investment in starting all of the ponds.
" The goal is to make it back in five years," Hilary Ostrom said. "That's typical."
Fisheadz was the idea of Joe Ostrom, who with his wife owns and operates Ostrom Manufacturing, which makes fixtures for pet stores.
" We're always looking for something else to do," he said, adding that his father-in-law owning the land, which had a spring providing water, and the family's love of fishing pointed them toward starting a food fish farm.
However, once they attended a class where the instructor informed students that even if all of the class members raised baitfish they couldn't satisfy
the demand, they were convinced baitfish "seemed to be the way to go."
John Lawyer, an agriculture teacher at Upper Sandusky High School and Hilary Ostrom's dad, agreed.
" We just all jumped in," said Lawyer, who grew up on a livestock farm.
The idea to join 27 other Ohio farms in raising freshwater shrimp arose from his awareness of the creatures and knowledge of the risky nature of a career in agriculture.
" I think it's a good starting opportunity for young farmers," he said. "With a health-conscious culture, there's a market for healthy homegrown (shrimp). I think it's just going to get better and better."
" Shrimp is a quicker money turnover, too," Lawyer said.
Joe Ostrom said the hope is that the prawns will generate some early cash flow, as he and his partners possibly consider venturing into adding a fish food farm, which takes longer to turn a profit. He also hopes to see some local support for newcomers to a business that he said is dominated by the overseas seafood industry.
"So, if all of these people are eating shrimp from other countries, they can eat ours, too," he said, adding that Fisheadz will make freshwater shrimp recipes available to customers who attend the harvest/sale.
The Ostroms and Lawyers purchased their Malaysian prawn from Bob Calala and Calala's Water Haven, the only shrimp nursery in Ohio, according to Fisheadz. Calala provided financial information and guidance regarding the prawns, said Hilary Ostrom, adding that individuals involved in the aquaculture industry are helpful to fledgling participants because they want the industry to grow.
Fisheadz put 16,000 shrimp, which had been hatched in saltwater in Texas, into the two ponds, one 5/8 of an acre, the other 3/8 of an acre, May 27. The prawns arrived less than an inch long but, raised on shrimp feed and zooplankton, when harvested will be 6 to 8 inches long from head to tail, with 12 to 14 specimens typically comprising a pound; the aqua farmers fertilized the ponds with alfalfa meal to increase the amount of algae to increase the number of zooplankton, which feed on the algae.
" Every morning you check the oxygen and the water temperature and keep it in a record book," Hilary Ostrom said.
Joe Ostrom made fountains that draw water from a few feet beneath the surface and spray it across the top of the ponds containing the baitfish to increase the oxygen level of the water. The shrimp ponds are aerated naturally.
Providing some financial assurance for the Ostroms and Lawyers was the verbal commitment of Crawlers Unlimited, a Wooster baitfish wholesale firm, to purchase all of their baitfish.
Meanwhile, the families are counting on public interest to sell their freshwater shrimp.
" What we've been told is it's like 'Field of Dreams,' Hilary Ostrom said. "If you build it, they will come."