Indiana-Based Bell Aquaculture Announces Company Launch, Featuring the Nation's Largest Yellow Perch Farm

Albany, IN — Bell Aquaculture has begun operation of the nation's largest yellow perch farm. The announcement is made by Michael Miller, President & COO, who says the company's first aquaculture farm is located in Albany, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis about 10 miles outside of Muncie. The Albany facility currently has the production capacity of less than 100,000 pounds of fish per year and ultimately will exceed 9 million pounds per year. In late December, the Associated Press reported the first certificate of occupancy was issued by Delaware County for Bell Aquaculture's initial buildings in Albany.

According to Miller, the company will employ 70 in Albany at full build-out of the new facilities. Bell Aquaculture's Bell Perch™ product is expected to be available for restaurant purchase spring 2009 and consumer purchase in the future.

Yellow perch is one of the most popular of all North American pan fish. It has a mild, sweet flavor with firm white flesh and low fat levels, making it a favorite in residential and commercial kitchens alike. In years past, yellow perch was the fish typically served at Friday night fish fries in the Great Lakes region.

Not to be confused with white perch or rock perch, yellow perch is usually only available a few months out of the year. Overfishing, loss of habitat, pollution, and competition from invasive non-native species have reduced the commercial catch to less than 20 percent of its historic highs-an 80 percent reduction.

The vision for a yellow perch farm was born when Miller became personally interested in aquaculture in 1994. After studying this science and becoming involved in the Indiana Aquaculture Association, Inc. (IAAI), he developed a dream to bring the local and personal favorite, yellow perch, back to the area.

As Miller says, "What started out as an idea on a Post-it note, ended up being 17 file cabinets of information." So after more than 12 years of research, consulting fish experts and a lot of hard work, Bell Aquaculture was formed.

Kwamena Quagrainie, aquaculture marketing specialist in the department of agricultural economics at Purdue University, was recently quoted in the Muncie Star Press: "Michael Miller is quietly becoming one of Indiana's biggest producers of farm-raised fish. He's going to be one of the major producers in the state."

About Bell Aquaculture

Bell Aquaculture is a producer and processor of farm-raised fish for restaurants and consumer use. Initial production facilities, dedicated to yellow perch, are located in Albany, IN, and comprise the nation's largest yellow perch farm. More information about Bell Aquaculture is available at http://www.bellaquaculture.com

Further, the company is profiled at http://www.publicrelationsnewsroom.com/aquaculture.html and Yellow Perch & Aquaculture Expert Bill Manci, Bell Aquaculture Chief Technology Officer, is profiled at: http://www.expert411.com/id6.html for media backgrounding.

Contacts:

Jodi Bertram, Realistic Marketing, 913-484-7361, jodi.bertram@bellaquaculture.com

Maggie Holben, Absolutely PR http://www.absolutelypr.com, 303-984-9801, maggie@absolutelypr.com