As I'm always reminded during these tough economic times in America, I am blessed to be working in the job I went to college for and now, thanks to my Canadian publisher, covering the aquaculture industry I left my corporate tech news desk to do.
As I'm never one to sit on my butt and let life pass me by, I'm trying to envision my next career move, say in five years. Covering the aquaculture industry now for 4 years, I've come across several jobs I might want to end my career on over the next 20 years. One of which I'm writing about for the next issue of Aquaculture North America, due to subscribers by the end of the month.
Coral Gables, Fla.-based AquaSol is a one-stop-shop for aquaculture consulting services. The company has consulted and offered project management services to clients in New Caledonia, Oman, The Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Suriname, Switzerland, Vietnam, Uganda, Turks & Caicos, United States, and Venezuela.
While working at a shellfish hatchery on Martha's Vineyard island in Massachusetts, geting my hands dirty in the industry I wanted to write about, I was told by hatchery manager Rick Karney early on that the real money is in consulting. Even back then, around 2002, I was thinking beyond just writing about the industry to actually having my hand in making aquaculture work better for the consumer, fish farmer and whole saler alike.
Tom Frese, the CEO and president of AquaSol, is essentially doing the job I would some day want to do on the media side of things. The company is staffed by folks who have varied experience in the aquaculture business. They provide a plethora of aquaculture related services, including site search & analysis, feasibility studies, environmental impact studies, social impact studies, technology transfer, marketing plans for farm-raised products, financial feasibility analysis, business plans, due diligence, project management, farm design, hatchery design, processing plant design, feed mill design, strategic planning, farm management, development of national aquaculture development plans, sustainable community-based fish farming projects.
As I say in the story I'm currently writing, aquaculture consulting and startup management has become a niche all its own as firms look for that extra edge in an increasingly competitive international industry.
AquaSol is meeting that demand.
Another possibility I'd be most interested in is lobbying for the industry in Washington D.C. Some of that work is being done by already existing lobbying groups representing the huge Soy Feed industry which sees a huge value in aquaculture. But there is still a gap between traditional commercial fishing, environmental NGO lobbies and those that represent, solely, the aquaculture industry. One group that tried at that job was the Ocean Stewards Institute, an aquaculture advocacy group. Because of financial constraints they had to drop the law firm that was representing them in Washington D.C.
One of these days, maybe in the next five, aquaculture media consulting, or aquaculture lobbying might be something I'd dip my toe in. Until then, I am happy where I am, writing for a tested and successful publisher in aquaculture media, Capamara Communications and their two trade pubs--Aquaculture North America and Hatchery International.
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