European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Matt Harvey associated press Joshua Brickenstein Shamein Metz, looks like the other rugged wooden dwellings in these tree covered Hills of Appalachia deep in Coal country but inside he has signs books and even a stain glassed window that proclaim fish not Coal or cattle is King Here. A a Brickenstein is a Farmer a fish Farmer. His Cash crops Are striped Bass Coho Salmon and tilapia. He is on of growing number of landlocked Farmers turning to fish As an alternative to such traditional crops As Corn wheat and Hay. A the . Department of agriculture says the Market for farm produced fish is growing. Quot the 1990a should be an important decade for growth Quot the us a said recently. Quot world population gains and limits on wild catch from the oceans should increase the demand for aquaculture  the government says increased fish consumption in the United states will be met through More imports and More Farmers like Brickenstein. David Harvey a us a agricultural economist in Washington d.c., specializing in aquaculture said about one in every 10 fish eaten by americans now comes from fish farms. Aquaculture thrives in states such As Mississippi Louisiana and Arkansas where the Mississippi River and its Delta provide excellent conditions for Catfish farming. It also is successful in Western states such As Idaho and Montana where natural conditions make it profitable to raise Trout. Joseph a. Marshal associate biology professor at West Virginia University said the practice is most popular in China where one out of every four fish eaten comes from a farm. Asians began growing their own fish about 4,000 years ago. Quot. Marshall said fish farming is growing because Ocean fishermen Are finding catches harder to come by. Fish Are cheaper to feed than livestock he says. To takes up to 9 pounds of feed for each Pound of beef produced compared with up to 1 Pound of feed for each Pound of fish produced he says. In addition he says Many Consumers Are reluctant Toby fresh caught fish for fear of pollution contamination. Quot you Don t know what you re getting when you eat Ocean caught fish Quot he says. Quot you have no  what the Mercury Levels Are in Many cases. There Are no checks for Many fish caught out of the country Quot. Local restaurants also prefer a Good nearby source of fresh fish he says. Quot when stores Label fish fresh that Only Means it Hasni to been Frozen Quot Marshall says. Quot big stores have week old fish and they Call it fresh. You can taste the difference Quot Brickenstein s 98-acre farm about 80 Miles Southwest of Pittsburgh includes two 2,000-gallon indoor tanks which look like above ground swimming pools and sound like giant aquariums. The tanks Are used to keep Young fish alive when Winter weather sours. Later maturing fish Are transferred to outdoor farm Ponds where they Are submerged in 4-by-4-foot cages that ensure their food stays in one place. Brickenstein 62, took up fish farming six years ago after retiring As a self employed plastics manufacturer in Tel. Aviv Israel and Pittsburgh. He also grows raspberries on his farm which he admits is More a Hobby supplemented by Money he accumulated As a businessman. He calculates a prudent fish Farmer could net up to $30,000 a year with fish although he has yet to turn a profit in five years As he experiments with different methods of aquaculture. Brickenstein builds his tanks by hand and uses a homemade filtering system to clean water pollution created by the fish. Joshua Brickenstein displays Soma of his crop Thalia otherwise known ast Peters fish in a Pond on his appalachian farm near Metz w. A. He raises the fish from fingering stage or when they re about the size of a tadpole. He stresses the importance of making sure fish get just the right amount of food too much can leave them just As dead As too Little. The fish Are kept indoors in a building that s something of a Cross Between a Henhouse garage and a barn. The Ponds meanwhile Are located about a Quarter life from his House and the Road nestled in the Hills and surrounded by rolling Green Meadows. Scientists say they still Aren t sure if fish farming hurts the environment. Maryland officials Are offering up to $15,000 in Grant Money to fish Farmers who build waste water treatment facilities Quot essentially if you take fish and feed them the excess feed turns into a nitrogen product that May eventually turn into ammonia which can Hurt other fish Quot says Brad Powers Maryland a aquaculture coordinator. Quot what we re saying is we done to know whether aquaculture is a problem. What we re trying to do is head it off in Advance a still Marshall believes the prospects for aquaculture Are unlimited. Quot what you make of it is really what you put into it a he says. Quot you be seen Farmers who raise scraggly cattle and you be seen Farmers with sparkling cattle. How you manage will determine How weft you  Marshall also says aquaculture can to simple for someone who has an occasional yen for fresh fish. Quot you just have to use a Little ingenuity Quot he said. 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