SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. (DC News Now) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to launch a salmon farm in Shepherdstown.

The inland aquaculture industry is doing a lot of good for the hungry in Washington, D.C., donating 50,000 salmon dinners to the D.C. Central Kitchen.

Ninety-eight percent of Atlantic salmon consumed in the U.S. is imported from Norway, Canada or Chile.

“We’re not only creating jobs here, we’re taking away our dependence on foreign imports of seafood to the U.S,” Travis May, aquaculture production manager, said.

The aquaculture center brings in 13,000 salmon in its 40,000 gallon tanks.

“We have things like drum filters and bio filters to keep the water clean so these fish really thrive in the system,” Kayla Fairfield, fish culture technician, said.

It’s an alternative to fish caught in oceans with rising temperatures and pollution.

“Aquaculture is a really fun industry,” Fairfield said. “It’s anywhere between salmon, tilapia, oysters, crabs. It’s just such an expansive industry. It’s really fun to be a part of it.”

The Freshwater institute, a nonprofit, gives back to the community in a big way.

“We are glad to grow these Atlantic salmon here in West Virginia and donate them to D.C. Central Kitchen,” May said. “They are such a great organization to help people there know where their next meal is coming from.”