What I did was scanned florida using google maps from just above miami south adding fish farms when I saw them. Then I went to www.ftffa.com and added some of the members, many of the addresses listed for them are residences and businesses.
My personal favorite out of the fish farms that are not being used is the one at
27.842985,-82.369587 <- just google that
Its has some abandoned buildings, near a channel of water, has a Miami climate and many of the ponds looks like they could be used again with just a bit of cleanup. Miami cliamate is awesome I didn't realize just how good it is there for tropical fish farming until today. I have to wonder about why its not being used tho.
My favorite no longer is... Its broken up into at least 4 parcels. Each house on that property is a different parcel and the ponds are broken up into a "left side" and "right side". Total cost for this would likely be $500,000 for what I consider to be "the property" which is actually the 4 parcels. I get that number based on the market value, assessed value and taxable value.
Also on the pics the left edge and front edge look like they got some good trees on them but I think those may actually belong to other parcels not included in the 4 I am talking about.
Segrest Farms is located in that area. I think it is just to the east on the other side of I75. Probably a smaller operator that sold to them at one time.
My aunt and uncle had a farm in Miami from 1950 until the early part of 1980. They were there in the early part of the hobby and were pretty much at the forefront. My uncle used to import a lot of the exotics of the time and held all the proper permits. Even did salt on the farm. It's a tough life. You are dealing with livestock. And nature. When Miami would have cold snaps they would run the pumps all night to keep the temps in the vats up. Can't do that anymore.
I bought 12 of my 22 gallon breeders from a farm down in Ruskin. The owner was telling me he was pretty much retiring because his wife past away. He tried for a while growing feeders but couldn't keep the water levels up enough without running the pumps. And it was just to expensive to run the diesel pumps for guppies. His on has no inclination to continue the business and is raising horses instead.
Ekk Will Water Resources shut down their farm on Symmes Rd in Ruskin a couple of years ago.
Fish farming is a tough life. Harder than food farming by a long shot. Most of the heirs don't want to put in the hard work and effort required. My cousin David died of an OD so he was out of the picture His sister wanted no part of it since my aunt and uncle were never really home and a nanny raised them. She moved far away. My aunt and uncle could never really take a vacation together and missed most of the family parties up north.
This leaves us with Ekk Will and Segrest. Segrest likes to come across as a mom and pop. They are anything but. Same with Ekk Will. They are both (along with Blue Lake Hatcheries which was bought by Segrest) owned by Meriweather Capital. They've got a load of money behind them.
Many of the owners, as well as my aunt when my uncle passed sold the land. She sold in 1980 and got a lot for the property for those times. There are condos on it now. The land is worth a lot more than the business will be.
Weather plays another part. At one point tropical fish were the largest export out of TIA. I remember seeing the farmers on TV during the cold spells and even with all the precautions still lost thousand of dollars.
It's a tough life. Most of today's generation doesn't want to put in the time. Most of today's generation can't afford the amount of land in the right area and still be profitable. Don't forget that these old farms the land was bought when Florida land was pretty dirt cheap. (pun intended) Hell I've got 6 acres I paid 9 grand for and at one point it was up at 50 grand. No. Still have it. I didn't sell.
Oh Yeah. That Ekk Will farm in Ruskin. KB Homes bought it up. I almost bought 10 of the vats but couldn't manage the moving costs up to my current house.
