Sweet Water auctions off first perch

The warm amber light shone from the postindustrial clerestory as though from a cathedral and not a repurposed Harnischfeger factory. Protected from the blustery night, people gathered inside to celebrate the first fruits of local urban aquaculture.

Instead of stained glass and candlelight, they found fluorescent grow lights suspended from an almost gothic scaffolding of bright lumber, illuminating rows and tiers of green, edible plants.

In place of an organist or choir, amplifiers lifted folksinger Howard Lewis’ rendition of Loudon Wainwright’s “Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road)” over the conversation, much which was about fish-the thousands of little fish swimming beneath people’s feet in three pits cut into the factory floor directly beneath the platforms of plants.

Sweet Water Organics, the experimental commercial fish and vegetable farm owned by Josh Fraundorf, Steve Lindner, and James Godsil, held its first fish auction Dec. 23 to celebrate the forthcoming January harvest of its first batch of yellow perch and raise funds for its operations.

Godsil gushed that the reality of the Sweet Water Organics facility, whose construction began last February, was “beyond my wildest utopian fantasies.” Later, he called the dozens in attendance to help support Sweet Water by bidding on its historic first batch of perch. “Is there anybody in here who might buy a fish so we can make payroll?”

Riverwest resident Martin Dietrich won the honor of the “first” perch for $42 after jocular bidding. The next four fish each went for $20 or more (see sidebar), with subsequent perch sold for $5 per fish. Recipients must return in early February with their ticket, and a cooler with ice, to claim their unprocessed fish.

Fraundorf discussed his ambition to expand Sweet Water. In the coming months, he plans to add three more fish tanks, each to contain about 10,000 fish. The current tanks house about 15,000 tilapia each. Fraundorf wants to phase from raising mainly tilapia to mainly perch because he sees perch as quintessentially Milwaukee-once a city staple but no longer widely available.

In three years he wants the facilities to be three times as big, with 24 to 36 employees. “We have high expectations to do great things in the city,” he said, and added that in December alone he’s entertained guests from Detroit, Chicago, Hawaii, and Holland who want to learn how Sweet Water is doing what they’re doing.

Sweet Water’s methodology is modeled after Will Allen’s pioneering aquaponics system at Milwaukee’s Growing Power urban farm, but it’s built on a larger scale. Aquaculture simply refers to the farming of fish; aquaponics refers to a system where water circulates among animals and plants, with plants and bacteria cleaning the water for fish and fish waste providing nutrients for the plants. The other component to the system is compost for the plants, enriched by the activities of worms grown on site.

Sweet Water’s plan is to sell the majority of its fish to other retailers and vendors, in part because it does not have fish processing facilities, but Sweet Water’s Andy Meier said they hope eventually to have a small market operation where neighbors can come to purchase fresh fish.

The Sweet Water Foundation recently organized as a charitable nonprofit, said its new executive director Theresa Kopac. She said the foundation will seek grants to support Sweet Water and advance a wider mission of converting waste into resource. “Right now people are working [for Sweet Water] without pay,” she said.

Fraundorf also envisions the foundation developing healing gardens behind the main building at 2121 S. Robinson Ave.

For more on Sweet Water Organics, see Casey Twanow’s comprehensive report in the August 2009 Bay View Compass online http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/1205.

Sweet Water Perch Auction Top Bidders

• 1st perch - $42 - Martin Dietrich
• 2nd perch -$30 - Jon Bales
• 3rd perch - $20 - Jason Haas
• 4th perch - $20 - Pat Wilborn
• 5th perch - $47 - Nik Kovac
• Subsequent perch were sold for $5 each, with a perch promissory note issued for fresh fish, good after Feb. 1.