The announcement is made by Michael Miller, Bell Aquaculture President & COO, who says fish – specifically Indiana raised Bell Perch™ – is being reintroduced to the event’s menu this year, in addition to pork, today at the 11:30 a.m. luncheon in the Toyota Blue Ribbon Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.
"Indiana Soybean Alliance is pleased to sponsor the re-introduction of fish to the Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry," said Steve Hart, ISA aquaculture director. "Not only is fish back on the menu, but it is yellow perch, raised and processed in Indiana by Bell Aquaculture of Redkey and Albany."
According to Donya Lester, executive secretary of the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association, chicken noodle soup was the main meal when the annual meeting started, and then from 1949 to 1998 fish was served. In 1999, the association decided to serve pork in a show of support for Indiana pork producers who were being hit with devastating low prices. The Ag Alumni Fish Fry is one of the largest, most visible agricultural meetings in the state, making it a perfect place to draw attention to the ISA’s initiative to promote Indiana aquaculture.
The guest speaker for this year’s event is Andrea Mitchell, who will give guests an inside look at the national political scene from the perspective of a broadcast news veteran. Mitchell, the anchor of MSNBC's "The Andrea Mitchell Hour" and chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News, will give her talk, "The View from Washington," based on her extensive background in foreign affairs and political races.
The vision for a yellow perch farm was born when Miller became personally interested in aquaculture in 1994. After studying this science and becoming involved in the Indiana Aquaculture Association, Inc. (IAAI), he developed a dream to bring the local and personal favorite, yellow perch, back to the area. Miller has been involved with the IAAI for 12 years, including holding the position of secretary/treasurer until recently.
As Miller says, “What started out as an idea on a Post-it note, ended up being 17 file cabinets of information.” So after more than 12 years of research, consulting fish experts and a lot of hard work, Bell Aquaculture was formed.
Bell Aquaculture's Bell Perch Back On The Menu
US - Under sponsorship of the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA), Bell Aquaculture is helping bring fish back to the menu at Purdue University's Agricultural Alumni Fish Fry.
