Indiana’s Inland Shrimping Solutions Provide a Deliciously Sustainable Source of Protein

In partnership with: Indiana State Department of Agriculture

Deep fried, lightly sauteed or served with grits – shrimp is deliciously versatile and packed with nutrients.

While many Americans picture coastal shrimp boats setting sail to haul in the day’s fresh catch, the reality is much different. Traditional shrimping has damaged ocean ecosystems, and overfishing has dramatically impacted supply, leading the U.S. to import more than 90% of its shrimp from countries with little food safety oversight. 

Two Indiana entrepreneurs – Daniel Russek, founder and CEO of Atarraya Inc., and Karlanea Brown, co-owner of RDM Aquaculture – are on a mission to increase supply through inland aquaculture by raising shrimp free of toxins, hormones and antibodies in a sustainable manner.

See more: Hydroponic Farming Takes Root in Indiana

RDM’s Homegrown Indiana Shrimp

An Indiana native, Brown never imagined she would raise shrimp. 

“I’m a city girl who married a hog farmer,” she says.

A move to Fowler and a downturn in hog prices prompted the family to explore aquaculture alternatives to complement their crops. 

“We thought we’d be lucky to sell 5 pounds out the door. We actually do over 500 pounds every month,” Brown says. “We started with six production tanks and now have 19. Within the next two years, we’re hoping to have 24 more.”

In the beginning, she had to order 200,000 post larval shrimp (PLS) just to get 40,000 to survive. However, Brown was determined to use her own knowledge to find a solution with a much-improved survival rate. 

“I got tired of listening to everyone else,” Brown says. “We redesigned the tanks the way I wanted. Our shrimp are raised in heterotrophic bacteria-based water – that literally means a zero exchange, duplicating the ocean. By letting the bacteria do its job, we add no hormones, no antibiotics.”

In addition to achieving a 90% PLS survival rate, the pure environment produces a truly succulent shrimp. 

“When you get our shrimp, you get this really sweet, clean flavor,” Brown says.

Atarraya’s Global Quest

After graduating from college, Russek formed a nonprofit to foster economic growth following a devastating hurricane off the coast of his native Mexico. Initially looking to train shrimpers, it didn’t take long to discover industry flaws including habitat destruction, coastal pollution and overfishing.

“You basically need to kill 15 pounds of other stuff to get 1 pound of shrimp,” Russek says. “For 12 years, we’ve been developing a technology to solve these issues.” 

Atarraya Shrimpbox, a plug-and-play shrimp farming solution, merges biotechnology with software and automation. The shrimpbox makes it possible to raise shellfish anywhere from urban centers to under-resourced rural communities.

“The core of our technology is that we create an ecosystem in each tank, replicating nature,” Russek explains. “Nobody is adding fertilizer in the wild,” he adds of their clean approach to creating a microbial community that removes toxins from the water without requiring expensive and wasteful water exchange. 

While research and development functions remain in Mexico City, Atarraya’s commercial operations are headquartered in Indianapolis. At the invitation of state leaders, Russek met with officials in 2021 to explore potential partnerships. 

“Within about three hours, they convinced us that Indiana is the right place for us, and we’re very happy with that decision,” he says.

Atarraya looks to double its current output by selling to both individuals and corporate customers. At capacity, they can harvest around 100,000 pounds of shrimp annually from their 12,000-square-foot warehouse.

Growing the Inland Trend

Both Atarraya and RDM help others adopt sustainable aquaculture practices. 

“The best thing about our technology is it was designed to be shared,” Russek says. “It turns something very complex into something very easy. We can train folks in two weeks to be shrimp farmers and grow shrimp anywhere in the world.”

Through RDM, Brown has helped set up shrimp farms in 14 countries. In addition to helping grow the industry, she has a personal stake in expanding natural practices. 

“If we can get more shrimp farms producing clean shrimp, then I can start ordering it in restaurants again,” Brown says with a smile.

“The best thing about our technology is it was designed to be shared. It turns something very complex into something very easy. We can train folks in two weeks to be shrimp farmers and grow shrimp anywhere in the world.”

– Daniel Russek, Atarraya

See more: How One Company Is Harvesting Shrimp in an Arizona Desert

Learn More About Indiana Shrimp and Aquaculture

Education is an important component for both RDM and Atarraya. Visit rdmshrimp.com and atarraya.ai to learn more about inland shrimp farming and sustainability efforts.

For more information on Indiana’s burgeoning aquaculture industry, tap into the following resources:

Indiana Aquaculture Association: indianaaquaculture.net

North Central Regional Aquaculture Center: ncrac.org

Purdue University: purdue.edu/fnr/extension