Gotreaux Family Farm in Scott is retiring, but not before helping feed the needy in Acadiana.
"So, we have been strategically growing produce for the community: produce, fish, beef, lamb, honey for this community for seventeen or eighteen years now," explained Gotreaux Family Farms founder and realtor Brian Gotreaux.
Gotreaux Family Farms has produced chemical-free, what is known as nutrient-dense produce.
Brian Gotreaux pointed out the green water in his tilapia tanks.
"So, the green water is many types of plankton that are growing with the fish, and that’s sixty percent of their food source, is the plankton," explained Gotreaux.
Now, Gotreaux and his wife Dawn are giving up farming and going into real estate.
One of their last acts as farmers is donating tilapia they raised to Catholic Charities of Acadiana.
"His decision to exit the tilapia market has created a load of generosity to the needy in our area with this donation of tilapia. And so, we’re getting together a crew of people to come out and clean hundreds of pounds at a time," said Catholic Charities of Acadiana Director of External Affairs Ben Broussard.
Gotreaux is donating altogether three thousand pounds of tilapia to Catholic Charities of Acadiana, which will then distribute the tilapia fillets to soup kitchens all around Acadiana.
Teams of volunteers are working to harvest, clean, and pack 500 lbs of tilapia at a time.
And while Brian Gotreaux is excited to begin a new chapter in his life by fully focusing on real estate, he says leaving the farm is bittersweet.
"I am gonna miss it, yes. I am looking to get back into aquaculture in the future. We’re thinking about finding a partner out there where we can relocate this farm and go fish again on another site."
