Blue Ridge Aquaculture, Inc.

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Blue Ridge Aquaculture is an industry leader in closed-system, sustainable indoor aquaculture. Headquartered in Martinsville, Va., the company has been in continuous operation since 1993. Blue Ridge Aquaculture raises nearly 4 million pounds of tilapia each year at its 100,000 square-foot facility. Each week, the company ships an estimated 75,000 pounds of live tilapia to markets in New York, Boston, Toronto and other locations, making Blue Ridge Aquaculture the worlds largest indoor producer of tilapia.

BRA’s indoor Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) grows seafood in a clean environment that allows control to a degree not available in open system aquaculture (ponds, net-pens, flow-through). Recirculating systems maximize water re-use through the removal of solids, bio-filtration, gas balancing, oxygenation and disinfection. This technology eliminates the need for a large water source as well as the environmental impact associated with disposing of wastewater. BRA leads the industry in all aquaculture performance measures, including high growth rates, high production densities, low Feed Conversion Ratio’s, and very low mortalities. The company understands the negative effects of stress on the animals and maintains ideal living conditions for optimal and efficient growth.

BRA operates with a focus on its triple bottom line. From an environmental perspective, the Company believes RAS are the most environmentally beneficial source of protein because of its relatively small ecological footprint, the high water re-use (over 85% of the water is recycled back into the system), and captured effluent with no environmental discharge. Socially, BRA views its workforce as an asset and an advantage, which is reflected in the benefits program it offers. The company has a strong health insurance program for qualified employees, a profit-sharing program and pay rates above the regional average. Economically, the company has generated attractive returns for its owners and employees, and believes these returns will continue.