Thanks to the Waddell Mariculture Center on Sawmill Creek Road, fresh shrimp was on the menu of a local restaurant.

Using something called a Super-Intensive Greenhouse Production System (basically a mobile greenhouse) biologists harvested approximately 2,500 pounds of shrimp.

The shrimp were sold to the Bluffton Oyster Co. and Pepper's Porch, both in Bluffton.The system was established "so local markets won't have to rely on imported shrimp in the off-season," said marine biologist, Jeff Bruce.The system consists of a greenhouse and a biological filtration system for water. The shrimp are grown in a controlled climate until they are ready to beharvested.

"I looked at the quality of these shrimp and they looked good, so I decided to buy some," said Larry Toomer,owner of the Bluffton Oyster Co.

The money raised from the sale will support programs at the mariculture center.

With the greenhouse system in place at the Waddell Mariculture Center, Toomer can buy fresh shrimp after the season has closed.

"Even though they're farm-raised, they're farm-raised in Bluffton," Toomer said. "It's better to get live shrimp because you don't have to worry about where it came from." Another program goal, Bruce said, is for the public to consider raising shrimp.

"With this system, you don't have to live on the coast to grow shrimp," Bruce said. Shrimp can be harvested every 75 days, which means three to four crops a year.

"What we'd like to do is make the system twice as long and twice as wide," Bruce said. "That way, it makes it financially feasible for people to raise shrimp."Bruce said the water used in the system can be recycled and used for an entire year. "If you live in Colombia and want to raise shrimp, you would only have to truck in water once a year," Bruce said. "That's one of the benefits of the system."

For more information about the greenhouse system, call the Waddell Mariculture Center at 837-5795.