Notes from NACE

Set up my booth way ahead of schedule. Didn't have to be set up until the 7 pm reception. I was set up by 5 pm. A little eager I guess. Had a long discussion with Gary Jensen, National Leader for Aquaculture at USDA over some locally farmed Tilapia and oysters from farms up and down the Cape. Martha's Vineyard's own Rick Karney was also present.

Tomorrow looks to be the biggest day of the event with a plenary session titled "A New Decade of Challenges and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future" kicking off the day at 8:00 am with Jensen and Reginal Harrell, of the Northeast Aquaculture Center in Maryland, among others featured in the discussion.

I'll try and update as the day allows. I hope to sit in on this first session than work the booth for a few hours.

Goodnight!

EDL

                 

Driving to NACE

On the way to the Northeast Aquaculture Conference and Expo in Plymouth, MA. First conference for me representing the Canadian publishers to the North and their trade publications Aquaculture North America and Hatchery International.

Have the publication banner, the push pins, tape and extra pens. I have extra copies of our November/December issues of both pub's and I have a trusted assistant, my girlfriend Aquinnah to help set up.

I look forward to meeting likeminded aquaculture professionals and other interested folks. I guess my first responsibility is to meet and shake hands with possible advertisers and new subscribers. This is all a first for me. I've been to many conferences in my days as a staff writer for CNET news, now owned by CBS News. But then I was there to cover any news coming out of the conference not actually a participant.

I'll be setting up my booth this afternoon. I've been asked by readers to keep daily blog entries through the conference. I'll do my best to you all up to date. Who knows maybe I'll meet some of you in person at the conference.

EDL

Legislators Try to Stop All Offshore Mariculture

On this Independence Day weekend, I thought I might take the time to update my blog, after a long hiatus, with a look at the latest attempts by members of the U.S. Congress to suppress the burgeoning mariculture industry in this country.

In the past two months, two efforts before congress look to destroy any chances of any real offshore aquaculture over the next decade.

First, in May, Senator David Vitter of Louisiana sponsored a bill in the Senate that looks to establish a three-year moratorium on all offshore aquaculture until "research" is completed into the impacts the industry will have on the ocean fisheries and ecosystems.

I write about the bill in the July/August issue of Aquaculture North America.

The Research and Aquaculture Opportunity and Responsibility Act looks to provide relief to struggling marine ecosystems, including those affected by the Deep Water Horizon gulf oil spill, Sen. Vitter said in a statement.

"It's clear that the marine environment, particularly off the coast of Louisiana, can't handle any more stress as it begins its recovery from the ongoing gulf oil spill," he said. "My bill is a common sense reprieve to these vital ecosystems that would allow us to step back and asses the potential effects on native species and recreational and commercial fisheries before moving forward with any further aquaculture programs."

The bill attracted instant reaction from the industry. Ocean Stewards Institute (OSI) president Neil Simms explained that Vitter's bill will only further squash the opportunity for increasing U.S. Seafood supplies, and is another example of how America fails to take responsibility for the amount of seafood it eats. He argued that 80% of U.S. seafood is imported from over seas and that more than half of that is farmed in offshore farms.

But it seems the industrial corporate fishing and environmentalist lobbyists were just getting started.

The second attempt by anti-mariculture forces in congress was brought to my attention by OSI, an aquaculture industry advocacy group. The house is considering major energy legislation, called Consolidated Land Energy and Aquatics Resources (CLEAR).

A provision to the bill is the most blatant attempt to stop offshore aquaculture in federal waters. Sec. 704-- Offshore Aquaculture Clarification, states that the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of theNational Oceans and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or the Regional Fishery Management Councils shall NOT develop or approve any fishery management plan that permits or regulates offshore aquaculture.

The provision goes on to state that any permits made and approved under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act shall be made invalid once the CLEAR act is passed.

In just two months, the chances of offshore aquaculture in the U.S. taking place over the next 10 to 20 years have become very unlikely should these measures or something like them pass in congress.

As noted above, the clear winner in this, should offshore aquaculture be stymied, is the industrial fishing industry, and of course international aquaculture businesses. But more importantly here in the US, the status quo of un-sustainably hunting the national fisheries is being maintained. If that continues to be the case, prices for seafood will increase (which fishing corporations don’t mind) and more and more Americans will be left out of the proven protein benefits of fish; more fisheries will be squeezed or depleted all together; and fishermen will work less and less hours on the sea as government fisheries management restrictions get tighter and tighter.

Offshore aquaculture in the US, if done sustainably according to NOAA guidelines and regulations, could provide a more affordable and consistent supply of seafood for the country, keeping prices of seafood reasonably affordable for more Americans. As part of a comprehensive oceans plan, aquaculture can supplement the wild stock fishing industry and help keep part-time fishermen in full-time employment on the sea. It also can break our dependency on foreign fish farms that don’t follow rules that maintain sustainable practices for the industry.

If you are an aquaculture professional here in New England, feel free to write your congressmen to support at least the current effort by NOAA, the Obama administration, to develop a national aquaculture policy for the country, which includes offshore mariculture.

Don’t allow the status-quo industrial corporate fishing lobby to decide for us.

Next issue of ANA

On deadline for Monday, scrambling to finish stories on Red Tide warnings and its impact on shellfish aquaculturists in Maine and Massachusetts; the recently launched Aquaculture Network for the Americas; the small NOAA FY2011 budget for aquaculture; Ohio-based all-in-one fin-fish aquaculture business; and update on Kona-Blue Kampachi returning to store shelves in June.

Feel free to leave comments on any of these stories. I love to get discussion going and welcome a little back and forth.

Cheers!

International Boston Seafood Show

IBSS coverage today. Interviews and press conferences from 11:45 am to 3:30 PM. Hope to squeeze in some schmooze and eating time in between official stuff.

Must do's include meeting and doing some face time with sources I usually just know through phone and email interviews.

Also looking into companies that are working to develop sustainable Aquaculture certification standards for upcoming issue of Aquaculture North America.

Deadline Met

Just finished last brief for next issue of Aquaculture North America on domestic farmed catfish prices showing slight signs of recovery.

The short snippet acts as a good side-bar for my larger story on the toughest winter in a longtime for southern catfish farmers, who face frozen ponds and fluctuating extreme temperatures and how that can lead to "winter kill."

This issue hits subscriber mailboxes March 1st, and features other stories I penned on Texas shrimp farmers diversifying into fish species like red drum, cobia, catfish, and even striped bass, in order to grow their market share beyond their traditional shrimp product. Also, I looked into Hawaiian-based Kona Blue Water Farms partnership with Kaeole Point Fish, Inc. to take over Kona's offshore operations off the Big Island. Finally, I followed up my earlier story on HR 4363, The Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2009, with a breakdown of the bill and industry reaction.

For these stories and more, turn to Aquaculture North America, "a great trade mag for a great continent."

Please fee free to send story ideas or comment on existing stories in the paper. Always willing to discuss the industry with like-minded folks.

E.L.

PDF version of debut issue of ANA

Check out the premier issue of Aquaculture North America. Martha's Vineyard pilot blue mussel farm on the front page.

New Publication Covering North American Aquaculture

Aquaculture North America has launched. I've got five stories in this issue, covering everything from the current debate over how to manage and regulate offshore aquaculture in U.S. national waters, to a blue mussel pilot program in Massachusetts, to the decision by the U.S. FDA not to ban raw oysters farmed in the Gulf of Mexico.

The new Bi-monthly trade publication is devoted to the growth of a strong, economically viable and environmentally conscious cold water aquaculture industry in North America. It covers the latest news in finfish and shellfish culture in Canada and U.S.publication.

Check here for background on some of the articles I write for the publication and to keep us informed about any news items you think should get coverage.

E.L.

A New Magazine for a New Time

As the North American aquaculture industry grows into its second generation of productivity and development a new magazine American Aquaculture, launching in January, looks to cover the ins and outs of the sector from hatchery to farm to wholesaler.

As a writer for the new publication, I am responsible for covering most of the US market. The magazine is the latest aquaculture related publication from the Canada-based folks who put out Hatchery International and Northern Aquaculture magazines.

For the first issue, I will be writing stories on the new offshore marine aquaculture policy development process now happening at NOAA; the use of ATVs and UTVs on aquaculture farms in the US; and something on a Texas shrimp farms.

Stay-tuned here for the latest on the publication and how you can subscribe.

ATV Use by Aquaculture professionals

Just starting my reporting on first assignment for Hatchery International. ATV use on aquaculture sites. If any of you have any anecdotes and use ATVs at your location please feel free to comment. I may use it in the story or not. But I would love to get a feel for what is going on out there.

Cape Cod Shellfishermen find success and hurtles

No one claims aquaculture is the silver bullet to save struggling fishermen under the pressure of a heavy regulated fishing industry, but farming the sea does offer an alternative way to make a living on the water. 

But as shown in this Provincetown Banner article, the growing shellfish aquaculture industry is not without it's own set of challenges. 

Aquaculture, though full of promise, has its own headaches as a recent forum at Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies made clear. But the glint of plump shellfish, easy harvest, steady prices and clean waters keeps the hopeful hoping...

Obama Administration Shifts Aquaculture Strategy

As first blogged by our friends at acuaculturetoday, Commerce secretary Gary Locke last week said the administration will develop federal aquaculture regulations, including a system that could permit offshore fish farming in the ocean waters for the first time.

As part of the secretary's briefing before a senate committee hearing in Washington D.C., Locke further detailed a decision to change a Bush administration proposal that would have expedited a permitting system for offshore aquaculture under the Minerals Management Service. He said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will oversee the preparation of the Obama administration's fish-farming guidelines, according to aquaculturetoday's blog post.

I was waiting to hear what the Obama administration would be doing with aquaculture policy. As the UN and other international organizations have seen the light in recent months and accepted the fact the industry is a more-or-less a good thing for consumers and, if done correctly and sustainably, for the oceans and those individuals, communities that rely on them.

Stay tuned for further info on aquaculture policy out of the Obama White House. 

MA-based Australis Aquaculture Making Waves

The Berkshires have a little bit of the outback going on. For several years a favorite south east Asian fish has been farmed and raised in a closed hatchery system at Australis Aquaculture, a subsidiary of WM Capital of Huston, TX. 

WM Capital bought the hatchery and farming operations in Massachusetts and Vietnam last month from Australis Aquaculture in Australia. 

Josh Goldman, managing director for Australis, told SeaFood Business in March that the transaction provides the necessary capital to increase the fish's presence in retail markets while also moving the investor base of the company, which will still operate with the Australis name. 

"We're really focused on growing the barramundi business, both by increasing supply in Vietnam and doing what we do in the United States," said Goldman. "We're building a national presence for the ‘Better Fish' brand." Australis barramundi fillets are now available frozen in stand-up retail bags.

I will be meeting with Goldman and others at the Turners Falls-based US headquarters to interview him and his colleagues for Hatchery International about their operations in the US and their efforts to sustainably farm the mid-sized white fish.

Though, the company has made a concerted effort to farm their fish in a completely closed system here in America, their Vietnam raised fish are reportedly being raised in open ocean cages.

At first, Australis executives played coy when I first approached them about doing a story on their hatchery in Turners Falls, claiming they wanted to protect their technology and trade secrets from competitors. I kept on them. 

I told them that I had learned over the years I worked at CNET Networks covering the technology sector that stories can be written effectively about businesses without giving away their golden egg. It worked and on Friday Goldman called me up and said my persistence had paid off.

With that, I plan to go out next week and try and cover their unique hatchery system without giving away too much. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

Aquaculture as an education tool for success

Over the past several weeks I've come across a few high school programs in the area that incorporate aquaculture into their curriculum, combining biology, science and sustainable oceans policy studies.

In a recent op-ed in the Gloucester Times in Massachusetts, the editors praised Gloucester High School students and faculty working on a joint project with the Salem State College science department to grow clams and hatchery maintenance. The effort is “effectively bridging the gap between theory and the real-world economy,” the op-ed went on to say.

Here on Martha’s Vineyard, I’ve heard of talk of students earning how to grow tilapia, though I haven’t independently confirmed this yet.

I soon will be pitching a story to Hatchery International taking a look at the various high school and two year community colleges in New England offering studies in aquaculture.

If you have any high schools in your area that fits this angle, please feel free to leave a note and I will try and include them in the story.

MBL Conference Call

This afternoon, took a conference call with aquaculture go-to guys Scott Lindell and Bill Mebane at Marine Biology Laboratories. 

I was interested in doing a piece for Hatchery International on their Sustainable Aquaculture Initiative that brings methods and technologies for fish farming developed in the Woods Hole labs to fish farmers down in Haiti. Found out most of the work now is being done down on the island.

Marine Resources Manager and Director of the Scientific Aquaculture Program at MBL, Lindell said lack of foundation funds during the current economic downturn has taken a hit on the project as well.

“We’re at a stasis point right now,” said Lindell. “There is a lack of funding as part of the overall economy.”

Most of their current work is being done in the shellfish aquaculture sector, including disease resistance research and the black mussel farming project on Martha’s Vineyard.

I did get a heads up on some upcoming fin-fish stuff coming up in the summer that I pitched to the editors at the mag.

May be an interesting story to see what other impacts the down economy has had on the industry. Stay tuned.

 

Connecting Aquaculture and Wind Farms?

In a recent email discussion with Cliff Goudey, Director Offshore Aquaculture Engineering Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), I was surprised to find out that he leads an effort to develop aquaculture technology that would allow for open ocean farming in conjunction with ongoing renewable energy initiatives.

"I am also leading an effort aimed at developing fish and shellfish culturing technologies that can operate synergistically with offshore renewable energy projects (wind & wave)," he wrote.

This reminded me of an earlier blog post in 2005 when I wrote about similar efforts to enable aquaculture projects using existing oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Goudey, was quick to correct this comparison.

"The motivations down there are somewhat different and partly driven by O&G wanting to avoid decommissioning costs.  Furthermore, site selection was purely based on O&G resources, not environmental criteria or suitability for fish," Goudey wrote.

I plan to reach out to Cape Wind proponents who plan to build a wind farm in Nantucket Sound and find out if any similar proposals have come out of the recent final public comment part of the project. 

Stay tuned.

Salmon Aquaculture Discussion in Boston

In brief, the WWF's self described "Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue" closed session in Boston over the weekend.

The participants, made up of producers, nongovernmental organizations and other stakeholders, were asked to assess the environmental impact of diseases and parasites and pull together current knowledge on preventing and mitigating these effects on farms and on the environment.

To learn more about each impact related to salmon farming, the Steering Committee for the World Wildlife Fund-initiated Dialogue created technical working groups (TWGs) that drafted a series of “State of Information Reports.” Each report assesses existing research related to an impact, identifies gaps or areas of disagreement in the research and suggests a process for addressing the gaps.

To view the full report, go to http://wwf.worldwildlife.org/site/PageNavigator/SalmonSOIForm.

Reports have been completed for chemical inputs, nutrient loading/carrying capacity, feed, escapes and benthic impacts/sitting.

 

Maine town opens aquaculture fish plant

A new lease on life for working waterfront towns?

Downeast Maine community Machiasport recently celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Cooke Aquaculture salmon fish processing plant, according to a company press release posted on the online seafood industry site FIS.com.

The plant originally closed its doors in 2004 when the local decline in farmed salmon caused a drop in production. In 2006, the Canadian-based firm Cooke Aquaculture purchased two multi-national aquaculture firms and promised to work with the Maine state government to collaborate and maintain a viable aquaculture industry in the area. With the $6 million dollar restructuring of the plant, the family-run firm fulfilled that commitment, according to the announcement.

Maine governor John Baldacci praised the fish processing plant as a good example of private, state and local collaborative achievement.

New England-FMC Supports Flounder Aquaculture

The New England Fisheries Management Council recently unofficially backed a plan in New York for farm-raising and releasing flounder into the wild.  The proposal is the brainchild of Capt. Norman Edwards Jr., a commercial fisherman and East Hampton, NY, town trustee.

According to recent press reports, Edwards’ plan got its biggest boost when it got overwhelming official approval from  NY’s Marine Resources Advisory Council. Regardless of these gains, however, Edwards has gotten the cold shoulder from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEC).

Despite that hurtle, Edwards plan seems to be catching steam and could act as a model for similar programs to supplement wild ground-fish stocks throughout New England.

Winter flounder - sold in markets as flounder or lemon sole - went into serious decline in North East waters in the 1980s, taking with it a major commercial and recreational fishery. Despite stringent fishing regulations, it's estimated that it could take more than a decade for winter flounder to regain its once-robust place in New England coastal waters.

Winter flounder first came into the national aquaculture spotlight in 2007 when researchers at the University of new Hampshire’s Atlantic Marine Aquaculture Center found that winter flounder is a good candidate for stock enhancement, in which juvenile fish hatched from wild brood stock are raised in captivity and released into the wild.

"We're studying winter flounder because we think they are an excellent local candidate for stock enhancement," said UNH researcher Elizabeth Fairchild, in a press announcement in 2007. "We know how to raise them, and we've learned how to release them in a way that maximizes their survival."

Raising the juvenile flounder is, in many ways, the easy part, according to UNH researchers. 

The process begins in what Fairchild calls the "honeymoon tank" in UNH's Coastal Marine Laboratory in New Castle, NH. Commercial fishermen provide the wild brood stock; Fairchild and colleagues expertly gauge their readiness for releasing sperm and eggs then give the males and females their privacy: "We let the fish spawn on their own," she said, noting that stock enhancement is most effective when the raised fish are as similar as possible to the wild fish they'll ultimately breed with.

The work gets tricky - and makes for fascinating research -- when the juveniles reach the size of a potato chip and are ready to join their wild brethren in the shallow coastal waters where winter flounder naturally spawn. "Hatchery-bred fish are different than wild fish," says Fairchild. They haven't been exposed to predators, for instance; nor have they had to forage for food. "For stock enhancement to work, the raised fish must be as fit as the wild fish." Much of her research turns on the challenge of making the cultured fish more wild.

Studies continue on how to best make sure farm-raised flounder can make it in the wild. For instance, Fairchild and other researchers have tested the effectiveness of acclimatization cages, marine halfway houses that give hatchery-raised fish a protected introduction to the wild blue sea, according to UNH reports.

Edwards’ plan in NY and any others in New England will depend heavily on UNH’s continued research.  New England Aquafarmer will continue to cover and keep you posted as news develops.

 

Going to Woods Hole to reseacrh MBL

On a quick day trip to Falmouth for some shopping needs, I decided to include a stop off to check out the Marine Biological Labs in Woods Hole. My first story for Hatchery International is going to be on the ongoing Sustainable Aquaculture Initiative (SAI) run out of the institution. 

SAI looks to bring affordable, low-scale aquaculture technology and practices to 3rd world nations where people struggle from malnutrition. 

For the mag, I'll have to focus on the hatchery side of things which takes place in Woods Hole. But the global angle of the initiative is what interests me and highlights the great impact aquaculture can have beyond just the balanced replacement of over-fished wild fisheries. Aquaculture can also play a role in meeting the nutritional needs of impoverished people around the world.

Here on the blog, I will illuminate more on how this takes place--from the hatcheries at MBL to the sustainable fish farms in Haiti and Sub-Saharan Africa, where the pilot program has begun taking form.