Kulahaven Farms
About Us
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide the highest quality fish and produce at a reasonable price while training and growing a new crop of young farmers to serve as the foundation of an entirely new industry that will make a positive contribution to Hawaii’s food security.
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Aquaponics
Aquaponics is a very efficient way to raise both protein and produce in a clean, sustainable manner. Kulahaven Farms, LLC, is Hawai’i’s first commercial Rainbow trout hatchery and recirculating trout aquaponics farm. We specialize in both trout and organic watercress, neither of which has any other commercial source in Hawai’i.
Kulahaven Farms LLC is a startup created specifically to pioneer commercial aquaponic culture of Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. We are the first commercial aquaponics enterprise in Hawaii to successfully raise rainbow trout. We employ innovative proprietary aquaponic techniques to grow both fish and organically certified produce.
We began by building a small-scale trout hatchery
The inspiration for a Rainbow trout aquaponics farm began in 2012 while founder John Dobovan was working on his original aquaponics farm in Waimanalo, O‘ahu. He moved to Maui in 2013 and leased space in Kula to create a proof-of-concept hatchery and trout aquaponic prototype.
There is no commercial source of trout fingerlings in Hawaii so Kulahaven began by building a small-scale trout hatchery under permit from the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture. After two years of testing their design concepts with a research-scale aquaponic system, Kulahaven is built out to commercial scale.
Trout in Hawaii
Trout require cold water (59º F is optimal), which is why we are located at an elevation of 3500 feet on the slopes of Haleakala, Maui. We import trout eggs under special permit from the State of Hawai‘i, hatch and rear them to market size, using the fish waste as organic fertilizer for a large crop of watercress – the most nutrient dense of the green leafy vegetables.
Growing Farmers
Today we serve as both a commercial farm and as a teaching facility for interns interested in building and running their own trout aquaponics operations here on Maui. It is our goal to serve as an incubator for hundreds of partner farms, feeding the people of Maui and the State of Hawai‘i.
We have had support from numerous individuals and agencies, including the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture, the Farm Services Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Resources and Conservation Service, the sNalukai Foundation, Kiva Zip and Slow Money Hawai‘i, among others.
Call Us
(+808) 955-0955
Email Us
jd@kulahavenfarms.com