OVER HALF OF THE WORLD'S SEAFOOD IS PRODUCED FROM AQUACULTURE. EIGHTY PERCENT OF THE SEAFOOD WE EAT HERE IN THE US IS IMPORTED RESULTING IN NEARLY AN $11 BILLION TRADE DEFICIT FOR SEAFOOD ALONE. WE NEED TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS BY DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE US-BASED AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY. AQUACULTURE IS AGRICULTURE, AND AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS MAY ACHIEVE ECONOMICALLY SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION BY INTEGRATING WITH OTHER PRODUCTION SYSTEMS. INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEMS IMPROVE ENERGY AND RESOURCE UTILIZATION AND OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY TO MONETIZE OTHERWISE COSTLY TREATMENT PROCESSES. INTEGRATED AQUACULTURE FARMING SYSTEMS (IAFS) ARE AN IDEAL INTEGRATED FARMING MODEL WHICH PRODUCE FISH AND PLANTS FOR FOOD LOCALLY AND SUSTAINABLY. HOWEVER, TO ENSURE THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED RECIRCULATING AQUACULTURE SYSTEM WHICH PRODUCES VEGETABLES AND HERBS USING EXCESS NUTRIENTS FROM FINFISH PRODUCTION, RENEWED ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES MUST BE APPLIED TO DEVELOP SOUND SYSTEM DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR REALISTIC PRODUCTIVITY ESTIMATES AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY, ALL THE WHILE ADDRESSING FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS.AS AN INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM MODEL, IAFS OFFERS THE POTENTIAL FOR ADDRESSING THE NEED FOR IMPROVED ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE PRODUCTION OF SEAFOOD USING RECIRCULATING AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS (RAS). THROUGH THE INTEGRATION OF HYDROPONIC PLANT PRODUCTION, IAFS RESTRUCTURES THE TYPICAL RAS PRODUCTION AND WASTE STREAM TREATMENT FROM AN END-OF-PIPE TREATMENT MODEL TO AN INTERNALIZED, INTEGRATED PRODUCTION PROCESS FLOW. TRADITIONAL TERRESTRIAL ANIMAL PRODUCTION FACILITIES IRRIGATE THE EFFLUENT ON FALLOW GRAZING LAND. HOWEVER, RECIRCULATING AQUACULTURE FACILITIES DO NOT HAVE THE SAME LAND FOR IRRIGATION. USING IAFS AS A NEW INTEGRATED ANIMAL PROTEIN AND FOOD PLANT PRODUCTION MODEL, FOOD-FISH PRODUCERS GAIN AN ALTERNATIVE OPTION TO TRADITIONAL AND COSTLY EFFLUENT TREATMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE AND LOCALIZED PRODUCTION OF PLANTS AS A MEANS FOR MONETIZING THE EFFLUENT TREATMENT PROCESS. HOWEVER, THE LACK OF RESEARCH FOCUSING ON THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SYSTEM INTEGRATION ENGINEERING (E.G. PLANT-AVAILABLE NUTRIENT PRODUCTION, EFFICIENT EFFLUENT NUTRIENT REUSE, SYSTEM EFFECTS ON PLANT NUTRIENT UPTAKE RATES, FOOD SAFETY-CENTRIC SYSTEM DESIGNS, ETC.) HAS RESULTED IN A SERIES OF TRIAL AND ERROR ATTEMPTS WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS DUE TO AN INCOMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THE DIFFERENT SYSTEM NEEDS AS THEY RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER. SYSTEMS-BASED RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO BETTER SUPPORT IAFS DEVELOPMENT FOR OPTIMIZED PRODUCTIVITY, ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY, AND IMPROVED FOOD SAFETY.THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO ESTABLISH DESIGN AND OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS, FROM AN ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IAFS. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL CHARACTERIZE THE PROCESSES CRITICAL TO THE INTEGRATION OF THESE TWO TRADITIONALLY SEPARATE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND FOCUS ON DEVELOPING AN OPTIMIZED, 'ENGINEERED' PRODUCTION SYSTEM DESIGN WHICH ADDRESSES WATER TREATMENT REQUIREMENTS, PRODUCTIVITY, AND FOOD SAFETY FOR IMPROVED ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY. THE SPECIFIC RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ARE AS FOLLOWS:DEVELOP THE ENGINEERING DESIGN, CONSTRUCT AND TEST A PROTOTYPE, LOW-COST AEROBIC MICROBIAL DIGESTION BIOREACTOR FOR SMALL-SCALE COMMERCIAL UTILIZATION OF PARTICULATE EFFLUENT FOR IAFS.CHARACTERIZE THE PLANT-AVAILABLE NUTRIENT PRODUCTION FROM A GEOTEXTILE BAG PARTICULATE EFFLUENT CAPTURE SYSTEM AND EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL FOR FILTRATE AND CAPTURED SOLIDS UTILIZATION.QUANTIFY THE NUTRIENT UPTAKE RATES OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT FOOD-PLANT SPECIES (E.G. LEAFY GREENS, AND FRUITING CROPS) UNDER ACTUAL IAFS CONDITIONS.DETERMINE THE INFLUENCE OF IAFS SYSTEM DESIGN AND OPERATION ON THE POTENTIAL FOR CONTROLLING FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS SUCH AS PATHOGENIC MICROBIAL PROLIFERATION.