As I work on the second issue of Hatchery International (HI) for 2012, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on some of the aquaculture issues I wrote about for my Canadian publisher and editor Peter Chettleburgh, who has been publishing HI and the many manifestations of Aquaculture North America (ANA), previously titled Northern Aquaculture, since the 1980s.
Some of the stories I wrote for Peter this year are described in posts here, including posts on one of the few US-based VC firms catered specifically for the aquaculture start-up community; another post had to do with one of the first and only fin-fish hatcheries in operation just in my back yard; and another had to do with refreshing page viewers on who I am and why I’m living my dream writing about this exciting global aquaculture industry.
Notes from ANA
One of the funnest and inspiring stories I wrote about this year had to do with the New York-based VC firm Aquacopia, Llc. Every industry, from the Internet/Tech boom in the 1990's to Aquaculture now, needs Venture Capital (VC) funding to push young start-ups to become commercial and to follow along, navigating the company through the first stages of its business. Aquacopia is the only VC firm focused entirely on Aquaculture.
I had the pleasure of writing about them in the current issue of Aquaculture North America, interviewing the CEO and co-founder of the firm, David Tze.
Aquacopia has its fingers in many pots, from alternative feed to marine pen technology and seafood distribution. For instance, Tze is excited about the opportunities at Oberon FMR, Inc., an alternative feed manufacturer in Idaho Springs, Colo.
Oberon is an early stage, startup, company with proprietary technology capable of producing a sustainably produced protein meal. Oberon’s product serves as a fish meal replacement (FMR) or additive ingredient for animal feeds, primarily those destined for the aquaculture industry. Oberon has developed a sustainable process for generating high quality single cell protein (SCP) meal from by-products contained in the wastewater treatment streams generated by food and beverage manufacturers.
Over at Ocean Farm Technologies (OFT), they say Aquacopia came just at the right time as the company was lacking enough dough to move their developed product into the testing stage.
For ANA, I’ve also been given my own column called FishBytes, where I combine my former experience as a Internet tech journalist in the 90’s for CNET News.com and my love of the aquaculture industry to write about how technology and the web are streamlining and bringing efficiency to the seafood farming sector.
Notes From HI
But the most enjoyable story of the year for me was writing about the ongoing effort here on the island of Martha’s Vineyard to establish a winter flounder aquaculture fishery enhancement project.
The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Council agreed to lease their shellfish hatchery to the Dukes County/Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Association (DCFA) for $100, allowing the association and University of NH to use the shellfish hatchery for the winter flounder project, the tribe announced in October.
Before fertilized fish eggs can be brought into the facility, it had to be refurbished as a finfish operation. Currently the work is being done to rewire the electrical system, bring in appropriate pumps and tanks for the winter flounder.
The building hasn’t run as a hatchery since before 2006. Two saltwater pumps at the facility were destroyed when the building was hit by lightning in that year. It has already been used for the raising of quahaugs, bay scallops and oysters. There is already plenty of information about the health of Menemsha Pond from work done in federally funded bay scallop restoration work by the tribe.
The partnership is part of a federally funded two-year $308,000 National Sea Grant project to find ways to restore one of the most troubled fish resources in Southern New England. The grant provides for enough funds to retrofit the facility to raise fish instead of shellfish. As much as $20,000 from the grant will be used to replace the pumps and get the place working again.
DCFA members say the first fish should be in tanks by March for the seasonal spawn period.
It turns out that 2011 turned out to be a reasonably good year for the aquaculture sector in the US, with an aquaculture policy announced by the Obama administration and several legislative efforts in Congress to establish regulations for the still small, yet, burgeoning American fish farming industry.
We also saw some of the first hatchery spawned blue fin tuna in Croatia by the Atlantic Tuna farming and coral giant Umami. The US-based company, with wild tuna corals in Mexico and the Mediterranean, saw their hatchery lab teams in Croatia successfully spawn blue fin tuna in captivity.
Umami Croatian subsidiary Kali Tuna has made an investment growing over 1,000 young tuna into mature brood stock at its aqua farms in both its operations in Mexico and Croatia to help replenish the Bluefin tuna population. This is likely the world's largest brood stock holding, with the goal being to release hundreds of millions of fertilized eggs and fry back into the wild every year.
“Currently there is no re-stocking program, but we keep the barriers of the cages low enough for eggs to go into the wild,” Johnsson explained. “The restoration/to market ratio remains to be seen.”
This spawning event is a major step forward for the Company's hatchery project. Having a reliable and predictable supply of eggs is essential to the success of the Company's propagation programs.
Earlier this year, Kali Tuna started work on building the world's first mobile tuna hatchery, one that will incorporate the latest equipment and technologies while being cost effective,” Johnsson explained.
It’s the companies long term goal to propagate Tuna and close the life cycle to supply the Tuna market, he added.
As a writer covering this industry, 2011 has been an exciting and inspiring year. I have started writing a book on Aquaculture in New England and how the sector fits into the region’s historical relationship with the North Atlantic ocean and the fisheries that exist there.
Keep following me here to see how 2012 treats our fastest growing food production machine called aquaculture.
E.L.
