Aquaculture Expert Bill Manci, Chief Technology Officer For Bell Aquaculture, Profiled At Expert411.com

Albany, IN – In tandem with Bell Aquaculture's company launch, its yellow perch and aquaculture expert – Bill Manci – is now profiled for media access and backgrounding at the Expert Information for Journalists website - http://www.expert411.com/id6.html - according to Bell Aquaculture President & COO Michael Miller.

Bill Manci, Bell Aquaculture's Chief Technology Officer, also serves as president of FTA, Inc., a consulting company he created in 1982 after receiving his formal training in zoology and fisheries science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and after a six-year career in aquaculture research. He has been a consultant since 1980 and has worked on many types of aquaculture and fish farming projects throughout the U.S.A. and other countries. Manci has also published more than 300 technical and popular articles on the subjects of aquaculture and fish farming, and served as an expert witness in aquaculture and fisheries-related litigation. He is a Certified Fisheries Professional, American Fisheries Society.

Bell Aquaculture announced operation of the nation's largest yellow perch (Perca flavescens) farm at production facilities located in Albany, IN, northeast of Indianapolis in March. In addition, Bell Aquaculture broke ground on its 27,000 square-foot corporate headquarters and processing facilities in Redkey, IN, in mid-July.

The announced headquarters will house sales & marketing, human resources, accounting and management, while the processing center will handle all harvested fish from the Albany farm to prepare it for sale. The Redkey complex will house approximately 70 employees at full capacity.

"The greatest difficulty for restaurants has been the availability of yellow perch out of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie – the two predominant lakes for the supply of wild-caught yellow perch," explains Miller during an interview on WTRC NewsRadio 1340/Elkhart in March. "Which means the restaurants that were typically serving customers who enjoy the taste of yellow perch, just cannot get the supply."

Further, Miller said: "The yellow perch that we're raising, the Bell Perch™, is a higher quality product from the standpoint that there is no real possibility of contaminants entering into their food chain during their growth. We have absolute control over our water supply, since they are raised in-house there is no opportunity for bird predation, pesticides or herbicides to get into the flesh of the fish that you and I might sit down to eat."

Bell Aquaculture's 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. 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 in early 2009.

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.

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. Miller has been involved with the IAAI for 12 years, including holding the position of secretary/treasurer until recently. He is on the Board of Directors. He currently serves on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's regional aquaculture extension team under NCRAC.

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.

Bell Aquaculture is committed to these four guiding principles in producing its fish:
1) Controlled environment;
2) No toxins;
3) Healthy growth;
4) Gentle to the environment.

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. Bell's corporate headquarters and processing facilities are under construction in Redkey, IN. More information about Bell Aquaculture is available at http://www.bellaquaculture.com

Click the following link to read the full text of Michael Miller's March 12, 2008, WTRC radio interview:

http://www.publicrelationsnewsroom.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Radio_Interview_Verbatim25March2008.pdf

Further, Bell Aquaculture is now profiled for media access and backgrounding at the http://www.publicrelationsnewsroom.com/aquaculture.html