INDIANAPOLIS – The shrimp farming industry in Indiana is growing. Atarraya, Inc., has announced plans for its first sustainable indoor shrimp production operation in the United States at 2075 S. Belmont Ave. in Indianapolis.

Unlike traditional shrimp farming, the Mexico City-based company said its huge modular containers for raising shrimp will contain no water pollution and no need for using antibiotics or chemicals.

The shrimp will be fed automatically and given precisely what they need to avoid waste.

“We’re inspired by the cutting-edge technology Atarraya has created to advance shrimp cultivation and I am ecstatic to see these entrepreneurs and innovators choose Indiana to locate and scale their business,” said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers.

Daniel Russek, CEO and founder of the firm, said a decade was spent developing the technology for raising shrimp in optimal conditions. He said a facility in Indiana allows the company to expand into the U.S. market and further grow its presence in aquaculture.

“We are excited to start in the U.S. agriculture capital of Indiana, which we believe will rapidly become the nation’s ag-tech capital,” Russek said.

According to company officials, up to $4.8 million will be invested in the facility, which will hold about 20 freight car-like containers known as “Shrimpboxes.”

The hope is to begin production before the end of the year.

Each mobile Shrimpbox, controlled by computers, uses biotechnology, artificial intelligence and automation that allow such operations to be set up anywhere in the world, even in landlocked, urban locations.

The 33-foot-long Shrimpboxes also contain two aeration systems, two tanks and a control room to monitor the activity of the shrimp.

There are also sensors measuring oxygen, temperatures, pH, nitrogen dioxide, nitrate, ammonium, turbidity and alkaline in the water to keep them at the proper levels, according to company officials.

The shrimp containers also house a biofloc waste removal system that keeps the water clean by promoting the growth of microbial communities to feed on the nutrients in the waste.

According to industry experts, biofloc technology is becoming more of a strategic tool in aquaculture by removing nitrogen from wastewater.

Other benefits from its use include improved growth performance.

Russek began raising shrimp in ponds near Mexico City in 2013.

The idea for Shrimpboxes sprung from a need to reduce shipping costs to avoid high mark ups on the price to customers at restaurants in places like New York City and San Francisco.

According to USDA, about three-fourths of all shrimp produced in the United States is from the Gulf of Mexico or South Atlantic in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

Indiana’s hope of having more of a footprint in the shrimp industry rests with aquaculture since there are no oceans in the state.

The state already has farms like RDM Aquaculture, which has been raising shrimp in swimming pools at Fowler since 2010. RDM Aquaculture also maintains water quality for its shrimp under a similar but different biofloc system without using antibiotics or hormones.

The company produces about 250,000 shrimp a month and recently began raising crawfish and tilapia.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation is helping to offset Atarraya’s investment by contributing up to $1 million through incentive-based tax credits and a maximum $50,000 in training grants.

IEDC partnered in the recruiting effort with industry groups like AgriNovus Indiana, which is dedicated to promoting and accelerating the growth of agbiosciences in the state.

Mitch Frazier, CEO of AgriNovus Indiana, said the Shrimpbox is an example of the power of technology, science and sustainable food production coming together to bring new choices to consumers.

“Indiana’s $52 billion agbioscience economy, coupled with our strength in technology, make Indiana a destination of choice for global innovators like Atarraya as we build the economy of the future,” he said.