Saving Seafood

Mainers look to farms to boost scallops, a wild staple

August 27, 2018 — Scallops are among the most valuable and beloved seafood items in the U.S., and a group of Maine firms thinks farming them might be a way of keeping up with increasing demand.

The Atlantic sea scallop is a New England mainstay, but unlike oysters and mussels, they’re almost exclusively harvested from the wild on the East Coast. A loose consortium of aquaculture businesses off the Maine coast is looking to change that by making scallop farming a viable option here. It’s one of the first serious attempts to farm Atlantic sea scallops in the United States.

One of the groups, Bangs Island Mussels of Portland, is using the largest amount of Japanese scallop farming equipment ever used by an American scallop farm. The Japanese have farmed scallops for decades, and Bangs Island hopes to learn from their example, said Matthew Moretti, the company’s co-owner.

Bangs Island began growing scallops at its farm in Casco Bay three years ago, and could have a few thousand scallops to market as soon as this fall, Moretti said. Maine scallops sometimes sell for $25 per pound, but the fishery only takes place in the winter, and farming represents a chance to bring the product to customers year round, he said.

“Scallops are higher value, and there’s a traditional fishery here,” he said. “It would be great to expand it.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Sioux City Journal

ALASKA: Mariculture industry has vast potential

August 21, 2018 — As Gov. Bill Walker prepares to sign a bill this week enacting the Alaska Mariculture Development Plan, 16 new applicants hope to soon begin growing shellfish and seaweed businesses in just more than 417 acres of tideland areas in Alaska.

The new growers will add to the 35 farms and six hatchery/nurseries that already are producing a mix of oysters, clams, mussels and various seaweeds. Eventually, sea cucumbers, scallops, giant geoduck clams and algae for biofuels will be added into the mix.

Most of the mariculture requests in Alaska are located in Southeast and Southcentral regions and range in size from 0.02 acres at Halibut Cove to 292 acres for two sites at Craig.

Data from the state Department of Natural Resources show that two farms have applied at Kodiak totaling nearly 37 acres, and one Sitka applicant has plans for a 15-acre plot. Other communities getting into the mariculture act include Seldovia, Port Chatham, Juneau, Naukati, Cordova, Ketchikan and Gustavus.

In 2017, Alaskan farms produced 11,456 pounds of clams, 1,678 pounds of mussels, 16,570 pounds of seaweeds and 1.8 million oysters.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

About 400 Escaped Salmon From Cooke Aquaculture Recaptured in Hermitage Bay

August 20, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Of the 2,000 to 3,000 salmon that escaped from a farm in Newfoundland’s Hermitage Bay, around 400 have been recaptured — a pretty good number, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Some time between July 27 and 30, the salmon escaped from the Olive Cove farm operated by Cooke Aquaculture, after net extensions were sewn onto a pen at the site.

Chris Hendry, regional aquaculture coordinator with DFO, says the rate of recapture to date is actually pretty good.

“Our reports so far suggest that about 400 salmon have been recaptured, so for a two- to three-thousand escape, that’s about a 15-20 per cent recapture rate,” he told CBC’s The Broadcast.

“When we had the last large escape incident back in 2013 and there were capture methods deployed, about 10 per cent of those fish were recaptured. So this seems to be a better percentage of success.”

Investigation to Come

Hendry said the licence to use gillnets for recapturing is set to expire on Friday, but there will be a meeting with DFO, provincial fishery officials and Cooke Aquaculture to assess the recapture process so far and determine if that should be extended.

This week, a humpback whale got snared in those gillnets, and a rescue operation was launched to free the whale, so the use of gillnets was temporarily suspended to ensure no other whale entanglements happened.

Hendry said there will be an investigation into what happened at the Hermitage Bay site, and further discussions once the capture of salmon is completed.

“One of the questions is, in a case of a release of salmon, is there any type of repercussions, and that’s something we would discuss with the province as we both co-deliver the code of containment,” he said.

“It also requires us to do an analysis of any type escape incident and recommendations on improvements or identifying any deficiencies.”

The captured salmon, meanwhile, will need to be destroyed by the company, Hendry said.

“As a condition of the licence, they’re required to dispose of them … but we are requiring them to take samples so we can build on an existing database of genetic and scale samples for identification of farm salmon.”

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

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford, the city of oysters? City Council wants to explore that idea

August 17, 2018 — In many ways, the city is the mecca for scallops. Now, Dana Rebeiro wants to expand that to oysters.

The Ward 4 councilor filed a written motion Thursday asking the Committee on Fisheries to help draft an ordinance that Mayor Jon Mitchell’s administration has been crafting regarding aquaculture permits.

The permits would allow fishermen to begin growing oysters as part of the city’s movement toward aquaculture.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Humpback Whale Entangled In Cooke Aquaculture Nets Being Used to Recapture Escaped Salmon

August 16, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Cooke Aquaculture has been told to remove all nets being used to recapture escaped farm salmon after a humpback whale became entangled in one Tuesday morning.

“Earlier this morning, at approximately 11 a.m., a humpback whale became entangled in a gillnet set by Cooke Aquaculture to recapture salmon that recently escaped from the farm in the Hermitage Bay area,” said Jen Rosa-Bian, a communications advisor with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The company was asked to remove the nets, which were put out to catch a reported 2,500 salmon that escaped the fish farm in late July, because there are several other whales in the area, Rosa-Bian said.

The whale was freed late Tuesday afternoon, according to DFO. The agency said no other information was available at the time.

Laverne Jackman was talking her granddaughter for a walk along the beach line on Tuesday morning in Hardy’s Cove, where she could see a boat putting out the nets.

In the same area where she and her granddaughter had watched whales feeding earlier in the day, according to Jackman, she saw a whale become tangled in one of the nets.

“The whale went into the net, and the next thing we saw was the whale swimming, entangled in the net, dragging the net and the buoys with it,” she said.

“You’d think people would have more sense than to put a net where whales are feeding.”

Cooke Aquaculture had previously told CBC on Tuesday it was working with the proper authorities.

“Unfortunately, reports are that a whale has its tail tangled in a net,” said Joel Richardson, Cooke Aquaculture’s vice-president of public relations.

“We have been in contact with Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and will work with them on solutions. We have also advised the provincial department of FLR [Fisheries and Land Resources].”

DFO says conservation and protection officers are on site and that Whale Release and Strandings, a DFO-authorized group that helps disentangle sea life, is en route.

Whale ‘in distress’

Jackman said the whale looked like it was unable to dive or feed because of the net.

She said her son and daughter-in-law saw the whale still entangled at about 12:30 p.m.

“They could hear sounds that the whale was making, moaning,” said Jackman, who worries the whale will die.

“That’s a very high price to pay for a few bloody salmon.”

Those salmon, who escaped through holes that resulted from a net repair in late July, can be seen in the waters in the bay, she said.

“You can see salmon any time you look out,” Jackman said.

“They’re jumping, and if you go out in boat you can see them going in, through and under the boat. Hermitage harbour is full, and every little cove and bay around here is full.”

DFO says attempts by untrained professionals to release a trapped marine mammal can be dangerous to that animal, even when the intent is to help.

“Marine mammal experts warn against people that are not trained getting involved because it increases the stress on the animals and creates a high risk of injury.”

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

NEW JERSEY: Aquaculture to take centre stage at Atlantic City event

August 16, 2018 — Aquaculture will be the main focus of this year’s meeting of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), with presentations on breeding, rearing, and harvesting of aquatic organisms in freshwater, brackish, and marine environments.

Some eight hours of the AFS event, which will take place in Atlantic City, New Jersey on 21-22 August, will be dedicated to exploring aquaculture policies, protections, and management.

“AFS has been a leader in the science, practice, and policy of aquaculture since our founding in 1870 as the American Fish Culturists’ Association. Aquaculture is a fundamental part of how we manage fisheries resources, recover imperiled species, and satisfy growing demand for seafood. The programming planned is a continuation of our members’ work to make aquaculture effective, efficient, and aligned with the principles of natural resource stewardship,” said incoming AFS President Dr Jesse Trushenski.

Globally, the shellfish aquaculture industry is experiencing a period of rapid growth. In 2014, US production of clams, oysters, and mussels exceeded 40 million pounds and was valued at $300 million. Shellfish aquaculture can be a source of sustainable seafood, an important contributor to local economies, and provide ecosystem benefits to the coastal environment. These sessions at the AFS annual meeting will provide a forum for discussing current aquaculture research and policy in the United States and abroad.

Dr Daphne Munroe, leading scientist at the Rutgers University Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, explains why this science is crucial: “As aquaculture continues to grow, it is important that science and data collection keep pace. We are learning more and more about how to monitor and manage aquaculture, and we must ensure that we develop data-informed policies, backed up by the best possible science if we want to foster sustainable growth. Conversations like the ones we will have at AFS are one way that we as researchers, put our science in the hands of policy-makers and managers.”

Read the full story at The Fish Site

ProntoForms on iPhone and iPad helps Cooke Aquaculture save over $2.1M annually

August 10, 2018 — The following was released by ProntoForms:

ProntoForms Corporation (TSXV:PFM), the global leader in smart mobile forms for enterprise, today announced how Cooke Aquaculture, the largest producer of Atlantic Salmon in North America, deployed ProntoForms to transform its operational processes with a customized iOS solution, resulting in over $2.1M in annual cost savings. The solution also helps Cooke field staff become more efficient, saving about 4,200 hours per month.

Cooke Aquaculture is using ProntoForms on iPhone and iPad in the field to streamline multiple operations and maintenance processes – daily inspections of boats, barges, fish pens, and other sea farming equipment. Data submitted from the boats is transmitted to the office in real time and securely integrated into MS SharePoint to ensure rapid and easy access of up-to-date information, including custom document formats, for management, auditors, and regulatory bodies. Field data is also integrated into the company’s Aquaculture Operations system of record to track site performance, feed consumption, and inventory across multiple sites and regions.

“We’re almost 100% paperless now in our department because of ProntoForms and their iOS solution for iPhone and iPad,” says Mark Fraser, Remote Feed Supervisor at Cooke Aquaculture. “One hour of savings per day for 200 users equals 4,200 hours per month, or about $180K/month in savings. Time to train staff to use ProntoForms on iPhone and iPad has been less than an hour given how intuitive the software and hardware are to use.“

“Our no-code platform enables operations groups and enterprise IT teams to quickly deploy a mobile solution, expand to new processes, develop new workflows, and completely transform their operations,” says Alvaro Pombo, CEO of ProntoForms. “Enabling field technicians to reliably integrate field data into systems of record using a powerful mobile front end is a crucial capability for large corporations. As this deployment shows, our mobile solution for iOS is robust, easy to use and manage, and delivers a significant return on investment for our enterprise customers.”

For more details, watch the Cooke Aquaculture customer success video here.

Vietnam poised to become top player in ocean aquaculture

August 9, 2018 — Vietnam has set an ambitious goal of becoming a leading country in aquaculture – specifically in the productive development of its coastal marine environment.

Currently ranked as the fourth-largest producer of seafood from aquaculture, behind China, Indonesia, and India, Vietnam produced 3.84 million metric tons (MT) of farmed seafood in 2017. That was more than 53 percent of Vietnam’s total seafood production of 7.23 MT, which itself represented an increase of 5.2 percent year-on-year over Vietnam’s total from 2016.

Vietnam’s government and industry stakeholders have recently taken a more serious interest in the development of Vietnam’s aquaculture sector, Tran Dinh Luan, the deputy director of Vietnam’s Fisheries General Department, told a workshop in Hanoi in early July.

The workshop, co-organized by the Vietnam Seaculture Association, Vietnam’s Fisheries Department, and the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), centered around Vietnam’s draft national strategy for marine aquaculture development through 2030. The strategy, with an addendum that proposes a vision through 2050, was prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and will be submitted to Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for final approval.

The plan calls for the country to implement – on a trial basis – several policies designed to encourage industrial sea farming, particularly in offshore areas, by 2020. The plan aims to double the farmed output from the sea by 2020 to 750,000 MT total, comprising 200,000 MT of fish, 400,000 MT of mollusks and 150,000 MT of seaweed, according to the draft strategy.

Luan said while sea farming in Vietnam is still at its early stages of development, the strategy is designed to develop the whole production chain of the sector at larger and more advanced levels. In its latter stages of execution, the plan calls for production to rise to 1.75 million MT by 2030, and to three million MT by 2050.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

KIMBERLY HAMILTON: Maine has an opportunity to be a global player in aquaculture

August 2, 2018 –Maine is resilient. As former economic sectors decline, we find new ways to market our natural resources, provide jobs for Maine families, and support local and regional economies.

Today, Maine is on the cusp of another economic resurgence — this time in aquaculture. Not one, but two significant projects are under development in midcoast Maine, both slated to raise Atlantic salmon in state-of-the art facilities. One of them, Whole Oceans in Bucksport, will redeploy paper mill infrastructure at the former Champion International mill site. The other, Nordic Aquafarms, will add to the growing industry in Belfast, once a chicken production capital of the world.

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food producing sector, growing at 5 percent annually between 2003 and 2016, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2018 State of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture report. By 2030, aquaculture will account for 60 percent of global fish food consumption, helping to preserve our fragile wild fish population. By these measures, it’s not surprising that aquaculture holds the power to transform economies.

If Maine plays its cards right, we can capture a significant portion of this transformative energy, competing with Scotland, Norway and Canada to meet the expanding global demand for nutritious fish protein. Importantly, Maine stands to gain more than 2,000 new jobs over the next 10 years as a result of growth in the aquaculture sector, according to FocusMaine’s own extensive research. The growth of related jobs would push this number even higher.

Read the full opinion piece at the Bangor Daily News

Technavio report: Global aquaculture market’s growth accelerating through 2022

July 23, 2018 — The global aquaculture market is experiencing robust growth, which is likely to accelerate through the year 2022, according to a report from the market research firm Technavio.

The report, “Global Aquaculture Market 2018-2022,” presents an analysis of the global aquaculture market based on end-users (commercial and residential); by product (freshwater fish, crustacean, mollusks, diadromous fish, and others); by environment (freshwater, marine water, and brackish water); by culture (net pen culture, floating-cage culture, pond culture, and rice field culture); by geography (the Americas, APAC, and EMEA); and by market, organized by distribution channel.

The report attributes aquaculture’s rising success to the world’s growing human population, its hunger for seafood, and the decline of the captured fish industry.

“Globalization, which has led to improved logistics systems and trade facilities, provides a favorable environment for the growth of the aquaculture market,” the report said. “The growth of the retail sector also drives the market.”

The report predicts a compound annual growth rate for the global aquaculture industry of 4.46 percent for the five-year period between 2018 and 2022. In 2018, the report predicts a CAGR of 3.72; a CAGR of 4.12 percent in 2019; 4.50 percent in 2020; 4.83 percent in 2021; and 5.15 percent in 2022.

Read the full story at Seafood Source