One legislator jokingly calls it a “fishy” bill, but it got the enthusiastic support of an Iowa House subcommittee. The measure would change state regulations for livestock confinements — so Iowa “fish farms” could raise all sizes of fish rather than be forced to buy small fish from another source and fatten the fish up to the point they’re big enough to eat. Joe Sweeney has a fish farm near Alden and is developing one in Ellsworth for tilapia.
Sweeney says there are about a dozen fish farms in Iowa today.
About a decade ago, Iowa’s aquaculture industry started at just about ground zero, but Sweeney and others see nowhere to go but up as demand for fish grows.
