Saving Seafood

Taking the sea out of seafood

March 15, 2019 — Land-based aquaculture can sound like a mirage — shrimp farms in the desert, salmon swimming “upstream” in an alpine village tank, tilapia swishing over the plains. And for a long time, ample production of sea delicacies in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) has been more dream than reality. Yet the technology and its innovators steadily have gained momentum and finally may be hitting their tipping point.

The allure of fish grown on land is easy to understand: Like all aquaculture, it reduces demand for wild fish, but unlike with sea-based pens, closed-loop RAS farms (PDF) run no risk of fish escaping to dilute the native gene pool, spread diseases or discharge waste and antibiotics into the wild. RAS farmers have near-full control over growing conditions, so they can optimize for growth and quality. And with its amenability to unlikely locations, RAS can sit near major consumer markets, providing fresh local seafood even when the shore is hundreds of miles away.

So why aren’t we eating it already? RAS entrepreneurs face three big challenges: energy; contamination risks; and money. Mimicking a natural system within strictly regulated parameters is an energy-intensive endeavor, and sustainability (not to mention costs) demands locating RAS facilities next to cheap, abundant energy sources. A pathogen let loose in a closed system can be a disaster, so RAS farmers have to be extra scrupulous about avoiding contamination.

Money may be the biggest hurdle: RAS operations need high volumes and relatively long ramp-ups to reach profitability, and the pile of patient capital needed to build and grow large, high-tech facilities can be as elusive as Moby Dick.

Read the full op-ed at GreenBiz

High hopes to diversify US marine finfish aquaculture

March 13, 2019 — Spotted sea trout, wolffish, tripletail, California halibut, southern flounder, lumpfish and greater amberjack are amongst the prime candidate species that might allow for the US to diversify its marine finfish aquaculture sector.

So argued members of a distinguished panel of researchers during a special session of Aquaculture 2019 in New Orleans on 10 March – a session that offered some hope that diversification could help the country expand its marine finfish production and to reduce its $15 billion seafood deficit.

Eric Saillant from the University of Southern Mississippi’s Marine Aquaculture Centre, outlined the potential and pitfalls facing tripletail production, noting that “current data suggest that tripletail could become a successful species for commercial marine aquaculture, assuming that bottlenecks in the hatchery [phase] can be overcome.”

Read the full story at The Fish Site

Seafood Expo North America – 2019 Expo Preview

March 12, 2019 — We look forward to welcoming those of you attending the 39th edition of Seafood Expo North America / Seafood Processing North America in Boston next week. This year’s edition will feature more than 1,300 exhibiting companies from 49 countries and continues to be the largest seafood event in North America.

There is a lot for you to see and do at the expo:

The conference program is packed with educational sessions covering corporate social responsibility, seafood business and leadership, aquaculture, food safety, policy, sustainability, traceability and transparency.  It includes the free-to-all keynote presentation from Dr. Lindsey Piegza, chief economist for Stifel Fixed Income, who will discuss the pace of the U.S. economic recovery and what it means for future growth, interest rates, and monetary policy. She’ll also cover macro-economic consumer behavior trends and the potential economic effects of new Federal Reserve policy initiatives. A series of free sponsored presentations will also take place in the conference area on Monday and Tuesday morning.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Famed music festival South by Southwest features panel on aquaculture for first time

March 12, 2019 — For the first time, famed music and culture festival South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, featured a panel on aquaculture dubbed “The Future of Food: Aquaculture” on 11 March.

The panel was led by Andrew Zimmern, host of The Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern,” who is also a restaurant operator. In addition to Zimmern, the panel included Rod Fujita, co-founder of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Oceans Program; Fiona Lewis, owner and operator of retail market The District Fishwife; and James Wright, editor of the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s “Global Aquaculture Advocate” magazine.

The need for more farmed fish is incredibly apparent, Zimmern noted during the panel. The health of the oceans is suffering, due to climate change, marine pollution, and other factors. While demand for seafood continues to grow with the global population, 60 percent of major fish species are fished at sustainable levels, 33 percent of fish species are fished at unsustainable levels, and just 7 percent of fish are under-fished, Zimmern said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Special events featured throughout Seafood Expo North America 2019

March 12, 2019 — Thousands of seafood buyers, importers, distributors, and processors are expected to arrive in Boston, Massachusetts this weekend for the kick-off of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America 2019, taking place from 17 to 19 March.

Considered to be the largest seafood industry event in North America, the expo features thousands of exhibitor booths stocked with products, solutions, and samples, as well as a wide array of live chef demonstrations, sponsored presentations, and other special events open to all attendees.

Topical presentations will begin on Sunday, 17 March, when keynote speaker Dr. Lindsey Piegza, the chief economist at Stifel Fixed Income, will offer an economic update to attendees covering the current pace of recovery in the United States and what it means for future growth, interest rates, and monetary policy. Piegza will also touch on macro-economic consumer behavior trends and the potential economic effects of new Federal Reserve policy initiatives.

A series of free sponsored presentations will take place on Monday (18 March) and Tuesday (19 March) in the morning. According to expo and conference organizer Diversified Communications, on Monday beginning at 9:15 a.m., attendees will be able to choose from two presentations: one on traceability standards, sponsored by the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability, and a second on utilizing ROVs for sustainable aquaculture, sponsored by Deep Trekker. The sponsored series will conclude on Tuesday with another sustainability-focused session, “Ocean Plastic Pollution: From the Garbage Patch to your Plate,” sponsored by Thai Union and running from 8:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Cooke Aquaculture One of Canada’s Best Managed Companies

March 8, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Cooke Aquaculture has reason to celebrate. For the 14th year in a row the family-owned and operated company has been named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies.

“Serving our customers while focusing on environmental stewardship remains at the forefront of our sustainable growth strategy,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Aquaculture Inc. “Regardless of what country we operate in or sell to, we understand that our relationship with the environment is vital to our business and to producing top quality seafood. We view this as a significant component of our corporate social responsibility. There is always room for improvement – and we continue to try new techniques, implement new practices and test new equipment. We know the company depends on a healthy marine environment for growing and harvesting seafood.”

Applicants are evaluated by an independent judging panel that consists of representatives from program sponsors, as well as special guest judges. Winners of the Best Managed program award are “amongst the best-in-class of Canadian owned and managed companies with revenues over $15 million demonstrating strategy, capability and commitment to achieve sustainable growth.”

“Best Managed companies are elevating Canada’s place on the world-stage,” said Lorrie King, Partner, Deloitte Private and Co-Leader, Canada’s Best Managed Companies program. “By broadening their network, and thinking globally, the Best Managed program is honoring these winners for their achievements in Canadian business, and growing influence worldwide.”

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Seafood sector urged to commit to gender equality

March 8, 2019 — A group of leading women from the seafood sector, including prominent figures in aquaculture, have called on more seafood businesses to actively promote gender equality.

An open letter, to mark International Women’s Day, was penned by nine women engaged in seafood communities and promoting gender equality: Marie Christine Monfort, president and founder of the International Association for Women in the Seafood Industry (WSI); Natalia Briceno-Lagos, project manager at WSI; Meryl Williams, chair of the gender in aquaculture and fisheries section of the Asian Fisheries Society; Jayne Gallagher, member of Women in Seafood Australasia (WISA); Leonie Noble, past president of WISA and Australian Seafood Hall Inductee; Editrudith Lukanga president of African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET); Tamara Espiñeira, coordinator at She4sea; Marja Bekendam, president of AKTEA; and Katia Framgoudes, spokesperson at AKTEA.

The letter states:

March 8, International Women’s Day, has become the day of the year to highlight what women do and review progress. Some workplaces have joined in celebrating this day, featuring heartening commitments to gender equality. But it is also frequent to see in the workplace the omission, forgetfulness or ignorance of what this day commemorates: the international day of women’s rights. We are living in a historic moment where the fact that women still participate in society and in the labour market on an unequal footing with men is more topical than ever. The seafood sector, in which at least 100 million women participate but wield little authority, is, like other male-dominated industry sectors, a fertile environment for reform.

Read the full story at The Fish Site

Maine fish farm foes ask legislators to let agriculture commissioner kill projects

March 1, 2019 — The debate over two land-based salmon farms in Penobscot Bay spilled inland to Augusta on Thursday during a public hearing on a proposed law that would affect the licensing of such projects.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jan Dodge, D-Belfast, would allow the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to refuse to issue or to revoke an existing license for a land-based aquaculture project if it alone or in combination with another project is found to present an unreasonable risk to native species or the environment.

Some of those who testified in favor of LD 620 are veterans of the fight over Nordic Aquafarms’ proposed land-based salmon farm in Belfast, which has consumed the community for more than a year. Another project, Whole Oceans, to be located in the former Verso paper mill in Bucksport, has received much less criticism locally, but has been challenged by some in Belfast and Waldo County.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

ASMFC Seeks Proposals for Regional Pilot Projects in Support of Sustainable Aquaculture Proposals Due April 15, 2019

March 1, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission), in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is seeking proposals to develop regional pilot projects in support of sustainable aquaculture. Specifically, pilot programs should partner with industry to develop techniques and business models to grow domestic seafood production. A priority are projects that consider promising but less commercially developed technologies for species managed by the Commission or those species that contribute to healthy marine habitats, including finfish, shellfish and seaweed.

The NOAA Fisheries FY19 budget contains the “Regional Pilots in Sustainable Aquaculture” provision that authorizes the funding. In addition to this specific item, the budget also focuses renewed interest on maintaining and further developing existing aquaculture capabilities at NOAA Fisheries.

NOAA Fisheries, through the Commission, is making $525,000 available for the funding period of July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. Individual proposals should fall within a range from $50,000 to $200,000. Any investigator seeking support for this period must submit, as a single file, an electronic proposal by email no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday, April 15, 2019. Awards and start dates for successful projects will be announced by May 20, 2019. Please see the Request for Proposals (RFP) for complete proposal details, qualifying requirements, and submission instructions. The RFP is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/RFPs/ASMFCAquacultureRFP_March2019.pdf.

The Gulf and Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commissions have also issued similar RFPs seeking proposals relevant to their respective regions. For more information, please contact Dr. Louis Daniel at ldaniel@asmfc.org or 252.342.1478.

Cooke, Martha Stewart partner on value-added seafood range

February 26, 2019 — Diversified seafood group Cooke is partnering with US retail and lifestyle entrepreneur Martha Stewart on a new range of value-added seafood products using raw material from its global farmed and wild supply companies.

Cooke, under its True North Seafood sales arm, is teaming up on the range with Sequential Brands Group, which licenses a range of consumer brands, including Martha Stewart’s, the seafood company told Undercurrent News. The range will launch next month and will be on show at the upcoming Boston seafood show, held in the East Coast US city from March 17-19.

The product line offers a range of True North products accompanied by a Martha Stewart signature butter flavor or spice blend. Packaging will also include an easy to follow recipe created by Stewart’s “test kitchen” team, the company said. These include Atlantic salmon with lemon herb butter; sockeye salmon with miso butter; pollock with a southwest spice blend, and a seafood medley – using pollock, salmon, and bay scallops — with a herb spice blend.

“Knowing where my seafood comes from is very important to me, and I’ve enjoyed and served True North Seafood to family and friends for years,” said Stewart, in a statement.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News