January, February 2024 by annexbusinessmedia

VIEWPOINT

One strong industry, one strong voice

A federal policy update from the National Aquaculture Association P. 14

KELP FARMING

Growing pains for California kelp P. 20

INGENUITY AND INSULT

Perspectives on Indigenous aquaculture in North America P. 16

PROFILE

The mobile aquaculturist

Erik Vis shares his story of adventure in aquaculture. P. 24

Loni Grinell-Greninger, Tribal Council Vice Chair, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

Charlie Culpepper

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 1 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

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America on a mission

The New Year is an opportunity to self-reflect. Perhaps, this January/ February issue is the editorial team’s version of an industry-wide self-reflection.

As is evident in these pages, there are many challenges ahead for the North American industry. But if the industry must face these challenges, I believe that it must also follow that the industry must be well-informed of it.

Charlie Culpepper and the National Aquaculture Association (NAA) shares an overview of the organization’s advocacy priorities in the United States for the year ahead. As he mentions in his column, the 2023 Farm Bill is on the horizon and this story outlines NAA’s focus on the many federal priorities that will affect American fish farmers.

The cover story takes a deeper look at the experiences that Indigenous communities face within aquaculture. Farming fish and seafood are not just key economies for Native peoples, it is also about environmental

JEAN KO DIN

stewardship and cultural representation. Lynn Fantom takes a look at tribes across North America to talk about how tribal leaders are making their voice heard on the political stage to defend an important piece of their way of life.

The story also examines the industry’s role in being true partners with these loyal communities where these businesses are being run. It is clear that the Indigenous Peoples are a powerful ally for the future of the industry.

Advocacy for aquaculture can seem like an uphill battle, especially when its challenges are presented collectively in our pages like this. But, I don’t believe it’s something that publications like this one should shy away from. In fact, I feel it is this publication’s duty to present them to you, the readers, in hopes of empowering farmers with the knowledge they need to drive change.

Let’s keep this conversation going at jkodin@annexbusinessmedia.com.

‘On the right track’: CAIA campaign expands,

introduces new partnerships

The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) and The Fisheries Council of Canada have announced an expansion of the Choose Canadian Seafood campaign. It is designed to cater to Canadian families’ demands for fresh, locally-produced seafood products.

This initiative prioritizes convenience, health, and sustainability. They have introduced new partnerships with over 300 Sobeys and Safeway locations across Canada to feature “Choose Canadian Seafood” labels, making it easy for people to identify Canadian seafood products. Metro across Ontario will also offer customers complimentary, easy-to-follow recipe booklets of Canadian seafood recipes.

Timothy Kennedy, president & CEO of CAIA, said he is pleased with the new development. “Our monthly newsletter will also keep our consumers informed and engaged, providing continuous updates on the world of Canadian seafood,” he said.

Paul Lansbergen, president of The Fisheries Council of Canada, spoke on the result of a study from Dalhousie University that showed 86.7 percent of Canadians regularly make fish and seafood staples in their diets, mainly driven by nutritional considerations.

“With 64 percent citing health as their primary motivator, the results underscore the relevance of the ‘Choose Canadian Seafood’ initiative. It’s clear we’re on the right track, particularly with the Millennial cohort, who place a premium on the twin pillars of health

Center for Aquaculture Technologies and Prelude join forces

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The Center for Aquaculture Technologies Canada (CATC) is collaborating with Prelude to provide a more holistic and comprehensive approach to clinical research and data management.

CATC is known for clinical research and laboratory services in the aquaculture industry, while Prelude focuses on animal health electronic data capture systems designed to optimize and streamline clinical research processes.

Dr. Fábio Zanuzzo, manager of Aquatic Animal Health at the Center for Aquaculture Technologies Canada, said this alliance will signify an enhancement of their abilities.

Our clients stand to gain immensely from the heightened efficiency and precision that these advanced tools bring to our already robust research methodologie

“We are not just embracing technological innovation; we are actively deploying it to set new benchmarks in the aquaculture sector. Our clients stand to gain immensely from the heightened efficiency and precision that these advanced tools bring to our already robust research methodologies,” Zanuzzo said.

CATC said this partnership represents a step towards providing a suite of both clinical research expertise and cutting-edge software solutions. This technology promises enhanced data accuracy, expedited timelines, and smarter, more informed decision-making.

Dr. Marije Booman, senior fish health research scientist at CATC, has been the lead behind introducing Prelude.

PHOTO: CANADIAN AQUACULTURE

ALLIANCE

Whirling disease detected in British Columbia waters

Whirling disease, a disease known for destroying salmon and trout populations has been detected in B.C., Canada for the first time.

According to a report by Cottage Life, the country’s first case of whirling disease was detected in 2016 but Parks Canada found B.C.’s first suspected case by testing bodies of water in Yoho National Park on Sept. 20.

“To limit the spread of whirling disease, Emerald Lake, Peaceful Pond, Lone Duck Pond, and the Emerald River shorelines, water bodies, and tributaries were closed until further notice,” Parks Canada said in an email to the publication. Further tests found more suspected cases in Kootenay National Park. All water bodies in both parks are closed until at least March 31, 2024.

The disease is caused by the parasite, Myxobolus cerebralis, and can kill up to 90 percent of young salmon and trout in affected bodies of water, according to a study in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. It’s named whirling disease because of the “whirling” swimming patterns it causes in fish due to underdeveloped tails.

Histopathology sections of spinal vertebra

Gail Wallin, executive director for the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia, said these closures are the “first line of offense”

to stop the disease from spreading further. Parks Canada is “taking proactive action, which is the right thing to do,” she said. “The problem with whirling disease is there’s not any management treatment that we have for it right now.”

Although it does not pose a threat to humans, Wallin said it can be easily spread if someone handling fish from infected waters.

It’s unknown how the disease arrived in B.C. The affected bodies are connected to Banff’s waterways through the Columbia River, so Wallin believes the disease likely came from Alberta.

Dave Burns a fly-fishing guide in Golden, B.C. said although people blame anglers for transporting parasites across water bodies, there are many other ways diseases can be transmitted.

Burns has also been advocating for the provincial and federal governments to research certain parts of the Columbia River.

“The governments should do more to study the headwater region of this very large, international water body,” he said. “This area has been ignored and overlooked for too long.”

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Sustainable Blue loses 100,000 salmon due to system failure

Nova Scotian land-based salmon producer Sustainable Blue has lost 100,000 fish in November which will create a seven-month production lag for the company.

According to a report by IntraFish on Nov. 4, the company said the biological filter collapsed in one of its six production buildings containing about 20 percent of the 500,000 fish on site. The incident occurred in the newest production building which was completed in April 2022.

“We’ve had a constructive dialogue with them,” he said, adding the fish lost were Sustainable Blue’s largest at between two to four kilos.

The cause of the incident is under investigation and Havercroft said the issue is an “isolated incident,” a construction failure and not one of technology performance.

The remainder of the company’s land-based facility is fully functional and commercially operational, he added.

“What we now see is it looks like the structural collapse occurred in the carbon dioxide stripper,” he told IntraFish. “The purpose of that piece of equipment is to remove CO2 that fish put into water as they naturally respirate.”

Once the cause has been identified, they’ll begin rebuilding the biological filter. Havercroft said the company plans to be back online in March and that is not halting any plans to move forward in Washington state with a similar land-based facility.

USDA to conduct 2023 census of aquaculture

Starting Dec. 18, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) mailed the 2023 Census of Aquaculture to producers who indicated in their 2022 Census of Agriculture that they produce and sell aquaculture products.

The Census of Aquaculture will provide comprehensive aquaculture data at the state and national levels which federal, state, and local governments, agribusinesses, trade associations, and producers can use. The deadline to respond is Jan. 15, 2024.

“The information that respondents provide will serve as the foundation for many decisions involving the sustainability and growth of the U.S. aquaculture sector for years to come,” said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer.

Producers can complete their NASS surveys on the Respondent Portal at www.agcounts.usda.gov. Users can also view historical reports, and access other resources on the site.

“We recognize that producers are incredibly busy, and we want to thank them in advance for taking their valuable time to participate,” said Hamer.

A scientist from the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES), Sherman Bigornia, is researching how to improve the consumption of seafood and dairy products in New Hampshire adults.

Part of the challenge, Bigornia discovered, is “the need for community educators and program administrators to tailor their efforts in ways that align with the values and needs of speciﬁc communities, rather than taking a one-size-ﬁts-all approach.”

Bigornia’s current NHAES research is done with other station scientists and outreach support from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Cooperative Extension state specialists.

In his research, Bigornia looked at a New Hampshire Agricultural Station project that used a curriculum by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and why it was ineffective in improving dietary quality and chronic disease risk among Bhutanese refugee adults.

“We learned that participants in our study were meeting recommendations for vegetables, added sugars, and saturated fat, but

not for whole grains and fruits,” he added. In additional analyses, Bigornia and his colleagues found that those who reported more fruit and whole grain consumption had better inﬂammatory and lipid proﬁles, respectively.

In a previous study, Bigornia and his colleagues found that Latino adults who reported consuming more omega-3 fatty acids (abundant in ﬁsh) had better cognitive functioning and lower depressive symptoms over time. Now, using funding from the NH Sea Grant, Bigornia is developing culturally tailored nutrition education to increase ﬁsh consumption among Latinos in New Hampshire.

“Supporting ﬁsh consumption in particular among Granite Staters—especially those from Latin American countries—may improve overall health outcomes,” Bigornia said. “Moreover, the New England region has experienced the slowest growth in seafood sales between 2016 and 2021, at 26 percent, whereas the national average was 41 percent for the same period.”

Gabriela Bradt, associate state specialist with UNH Extension and NH Sea Grant said the high price of seafood makes these foods inaccessible to individuals within lower income brackets which imparts the slow growth of seafood sales. In 2021, the top ﬁve consumed ﬁsh species in the U.S. were shrimp, salmon, canned tuna, tilapia (freshwater) and Alaskan pollock.

“Ultimately, this research will provide key insight to harvesters, producers and consumers about the importance of not only eating seafood but also for providing a greater variety of species—and at different price points—to New Hampshire and New England consumers,” said Bradt.

B.C. First Nations group proposes plan for salmon aquaculture

The Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship (FNFFS) in British Columbia has developed a plan for salmon aquaculture that they hope will drive wild salmon revitalization; economic reconciliation; an Indigenous-led blue economy; social and ecological well-being for their territories and communities; food security and affordability for their communities and all Canadians.

The coalition came to Parliament Hill on Nov. 28 to announce their plan which ensures that the future of salmon farming in B.C. is led by the Nations in whose territories the farms operate while retaining good, sustainable, year-round jobs and building economic and scientific capacity in Indigenous communities. It also integrates the vision for a new Indigenous Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences (iCAHS) based in Campbell River, B.C.

Dallas Smith, spokesperson for the Coalition, said they have shown that they can be both salmon stewards and farmers in their sovereign states.

“As conservationists, our coastal Nations have travelled thousands of kilometres to Parliament Hill to present a solution to what’s been a divisive issue in B.C.: a real, achievable plan for salmon farming that enables our remote communities to continue to thrive socially, economically, and

culturally while working to revitalize wild salmon,” said Smith.

Forty percent of the fish farms in B.C. closed in recent years, about 400 jobs have been lost, small businesses have been impacted, and food bank lines are longer in communities like Port Hardy on Northern Vancouver Island. Considering the impact on remote communities, Smith said any further decision regarding the future of the sector must be done so with Rightsholder Nations at the table and with their communities in mind.

Isaiah Robinson, Deputy Chief Councillor for Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation said his community has 99 percent employment and 51 percent of their income comes from the salmon farming sector.

“Because of the work and dignity that comes with the salmon farming industry, we have had no suicides in my community of Klemtu for the past 18 years. Think about that,” said Robinson. “It makes no sense to shut it down. There is no industry that can fill that space.”

“If Canada is going to walk the talk on true reconciliation, I think every Canadian would agree that the future of modern salmon farming in B.C. must be shaped by the coastal First Nations in whose territories the farms are located,” Smith added.

From left to right: Thomas Smith, Deputy Chief Isaiah Robinson, Dallas Smith, Chief Simon Tom, Brian Assu, and James Wallas.

Cooke and True North get $6.7M boost to expand Atlantic Canada operations

Cooke Aquaculture is poised to double the size of its production plant, thanks to new funding from the Government of New Brunswick.

Through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund, the provincial government is providing a C$2 million (US$1.5 million) loan for the purchase of new equipment for Cooke’s processing plant, True North Salmon, in the St. George municipal industrial park.

The federal government is also providing an additional C$4.7 million (US$3.5 million). The total repayable loan is C$6.7 million (almost US$5 million).

The new equipment will allow True North Seafood to double its salmon processing capacity from 30 million to 60 million lbs. annually and package new retail products including salmon burgers and salmon roasts for grocery stores. Cooke called it the company’s most significant expansion in its 38-year history.

“We are happy to support the expansion and the well-paying jobs it supports,” said New Brunswick’s Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Margaret Johnson.

“Aquaculture in New Brunswick is a success story known around the world. The True North Seafood expansion is an exciting project for the provincial aquaculture industry, and I look forward to seeing how successful it will be.”

The expansion will allow the company to improve its response to market requirements and labour shortages.

The Atlantic Fisheries Fund supports commercial fisheries and the aquaculture industry.

DESIGN | EQUIPMENT | SOLUTIONS

New Brunswick’s primary aquaculture sector contributed C$71.8 million (US$52.8 million) to the province’s GDP, generating 415 full-year equivalent jobs in 2022.

“This expansion project is the cornerstone of our company’s overall investment plans in Atlantic Canada, and the new advanced equipment is designed to keep our operation streamlined,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Aquaculture.

Victoria university develops enhanced climate tracking technology

A research initiative by the University of Victoria in B.C. is expanding its climate tracking in the northeast Pacific Ocean

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is an observing facility owned by the university that is dedicated to collecting ocean data in the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic coasts of Canada with the aim of “accelerating scientific discovery and making possible services and solutions for a resilient planet.”

Recently, the university announced its intention to expand its reach of Pacific Ocean monitoring with the deployment of new deep-sea Argo floats.

NKE Deep ARVORs floats have a vertical range of four kilometres—double the depth of most other operational floats. The battery-powered float devices travel up and down using a mechanism that controls its buoyancy. When the float breaches the surface, it transmits the collected data via satellite to its global Argo data portal.

ONC’s floats are the first to explore the northeast Pacific region below two-kilometre depths while equipped with a sensor that measures dissolved oxygen.

“The deep waters of the northeast Pacific have been losing oxygen due to climate change,” said ONC senior staff scientist Kohen Bauer. “The Deep Argo floats are

providing measurements of dissolved oxygen more frequently and over a larger area than previously established, allowing us to better monitor critical changes in environmental conditions.”

Five floats were deployed in the northeast Pacific in 2023, during expeditions led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The metrics captured by the floats are dissolved oxygen, temperature (heat storage), seawater salinity, pressure and the amount of oxygen gas in seawater, which most marine species rely on to survive.

“With early detection, there is potential for protecting coastal aquaculture industry resources before low oxygen conditions emerge,” said ONC President and CEO Kate Moran. “NEPTUNE observatory, for example, helped identify an extreme low oxygen (i.e. hypoxia) event in August 2021 along the southern British Columbia continental shelf. The addition of the deep floats will give us a wider geographic picture of these types of events.”

The data from the ONC floats are contributing to Argo Canada and are accessible via the international Argo program, which is bringing more certainty to global heat storage estimates and therefore projections of sea level rise.

UMass researchers develop portable biosensors for waterborne diseases

Scientists from the University of Massachusetts Lowell are developing a low-cost, portable biosensor technology that is designed to rapidly detect germs that threaten marine and freshwater life.

The initiative, called BioSPACE, is designed to provide farmers, environmental agencies and water-reliant industries with sensors and a data analytics platform that can signal the presence of bacterial and viral pathogens, such as Vibrio and Pseudomonas, which attack shrimp and can also give rise to diseases in humans.

The initiative received US$1 million from the National Science Foundation to support further research.

“This is critical in safeguarding public health, particularly in vulnerable coastal areas that provide communities with food, recreation and protection from storms,” said UMass Lowell electrical engineering Professor Yan Luo, who is leading the project.

The research team also includes UMass Lowell environmental engineering Associate Professor Sheree Pagsuyoin, biology Associate Professor Frederic Chain, and biology Assistant Professor

Sarah Gignoux-Wolfsohn. Other partners include Northeastern University, the University of Arizona, and Woodpecker Microsystems of Houston, Texas.

“Existing technologies for detecting waterborne pathogens – such as the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test – are too slow and costly for large-scale deployment,” Luo said. “Delayed test results can lead to the spread of pathogens, which can progress to coastal contamination and extensive aquaculture losses.”

Luo said waterborne pathogens can occur naturally in the environment or be transmitted from infected species. Human activity can also introduce pathogens such as norovirus and E. coli, which enter aquatic ecosystems through sewage discharges and farm runoff, according to the university’s press release.

“This contamination can threaten fisheries, recreational areas and the sustainability of the increasingly important aquaculture industry,” he said. “Aquatic pathogens that infect commercially cultivated animals can cause disease outbreaks that can wipe out entire aquaculture farms.”

Albert Ruskey, ONC project engineer EIT, with a NKE Deep ARVORS profiling float.

PHOTO: OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA

Dr. Yan Luo

Offshore aquaculture bill draws opposition

The SEAfood Act was reintroduced to U.S. Congress this year by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina). The bill would authorize NOAA to create an offshore aquaculture assessment program to establish a grant program for aquaculture centers of excellence and ordered reports on aquaculture regulations. According to critics, however, the bill allows NOAA to circumvent environmental assessments.

James Mitchell, legislative director of Don’t Cage Our Oceans, says that the provisions of the act would put local businesses at a disadvantage and would encourage larger corporate interests to establish trial facilities without oversight.

“We can’t afford to hand over our public spaces to big businesses that will extract profit at the expense of the environment, small business owners, and coastal residents,” said Mitchell. “We need the House and other federal leaders to focus on supporting the fishing businesses and methods that we know are safe, sustainable, and able to feed the American people.”

On the other hand, the bill is supported by the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture (CSA), who call it “the only measure in Congress that lays the groundwork for an equitable and inclusive seafood economy of both farmed and wild-caught fish while prioritizing data and science in the development of offshore aquaculture in the U.S.”

CSA chief Andrew Zimmern further described the act as “a science-based approach that’s good for the economy, for our domestic seafood industry, for our ocean, and for American consumers.”

The bill was initially introduced in the 2022 legislative session, but it failed to receive sufficient support to make it out of committee before that session ended.

Representatives for NOAA declined to comment on the legislation.

‘False’ advertising claims lead to removal of anti-salmon farming billboards in Ottawa

A complaint by the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) of false advertising has caused the removal of anti-salmon farming billboards around Ottawa for false advertising.

Wild First is a non-governmental organization aimed to protect British Columbia’s wild Pacific salmon by working with governments and communities transitioning away from open net pen fish farms.

CAIA’s press release stated that the ads included information about open net pen salmon farms being banned in Washington, Oregon, California, and Alaska. Based on this inaccurate information, the ads called on Ottawa to remove all salmon farms from B.C. waters.

Tim Kennedy, CAIA president and CEO said, in the Alaska Department Fish and Game’s Salmon Fisheries Enhancement Report, the state’s aquaculture program grew approximately 1.9 billion juvenile salmon in a combination of land-based hatcheries and ocean-based net pens in 2022.

“These anti-salmon billboards included statements by the activist group Wild First that were both false and potentially economically harmful to British Columbia businesses and organizations and their employees that (CAIA) represents. Modern,

Laser deterrent system employed at Mississippi fish farm

- Matt Jones

sustainable, in-ocean salmon aquaculture is the second biggest agri-food export in British Columbia and key to the blue economy future for people living in rural, coastal and Indigenous communities,” said Kennedy.

The letter from CAIA states that the farming of finfish (including salmon) is not banned in California, Oregon, or Washington and in Alaska, net pens are commonly used to raise salmon for commercial purposes.

“In an age of misinformation, we are pleased that the right thing happened – false ads that did not stand up to the truth test were removed,” said Kennedy. “Activists with deep pockets who don’t live or work where our salmon farmers live and work are trying to drive policy decisions in Ottawa that would cancel people’s livelihoods using a storyline based on old data and false information.”

On Nov. 18, 2022, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz announced Washington’s public aquatic lands will no longer be home to commercial finfish net pen aquaculture. But on Oct. 20, a decision from the Thurston County Superior Court Judge Indu Thomas stated that Washington’s net pen ban has “no legal effect.” In Washington state, farming of native fish species in net pens is allowed and “No regulations in any of the four states ban the use of netting (net pens) to contain fish.”

With egrets disrupting feeding routines and consuming up to 15 percent of the company’s fish every year, Mississippi’s Bear Creek Fisheries needed a solution. They found one with the Bird Control Group’s AVIX Autonomic Mark II laser deterrent system. Sales Manager Jeff Armes says that the company’s foray into aquaculture took place after they ran into a representative for water testing firm In-Situ at a trade show.

“At that point, the laser had mostly been used in agriculture,” says Armes. “The major work in aquaculture hadn’t been done yet, so we did a trial with In-Situ with a couple of their growers. And sure enough, just like the laser keeps the birds off the row crops, it was keeping the birds off the water pond. The birds can eat up to eight pounds of fish per day, and for years they had been getting devastated with bird problems.”

While the notion of a ‘laser defense system’ likely conjures up images of a device frying up birds with some sort of high-intensity beam, Armes laughs as he ensures that isn’t the case. The lasers cause no harm to the birds themselves but simulate predator behavior to scare them away.

“We’ll program that laser to run zigzag lines in multiple randomized patterns,” says Armes. “The randomization keeps the birds from getting used to the laser. It’s nothing like the bird flies into the laser and it scares it away. The laser is just sitting there running these continuous patterns. And to me and you, say during the daytime, all we can see at the end of that laser beam is green on the water, but the bird sees that entire laser beam from the unit to where the laser is making contact with the water surface.”

- Matt Jones

Mississippi’s Bear Creek Fisheries have employed a last deterrent system to prevent egret predation.

One strong industry, one strong voice

A FEDERAL ADVOCACY UPDATE FROM THE NATIONAL AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION

For over 32 years, the National Aquaculture Association (NAA) has been the unifying voice of the United States’ aquaculture sector. NAA remains committed to the growth and success of all American aquaculture farms through collaborations with state and federal governments that foster a positive business climate and cost-effective regulations that ensure environmental stewardship. As a not-for-profit trade association, we fulfill our mission primarily through federal advocacy, public outreach, and farm promotion.

With the 2023 Farm Bill on the horizon, NAA is working feverishly to communicate U.S. aquaculture priorities and get bills introduced that will make a real difference for American farmers. While the word “aquaculture” is more popular than ever in Congress, we still have an uphill battle to get current bills passed and critical priorities introduced. The following federal priorities have been carefully developed through conversations with farmers and national, regional, state and species aquaculture associations across the country and the collective expertise of NAA’s Legislative and Government Relations Committee and Board of Directors.

Waive adjusted gross income limit for ELAP

Prior to the expanded availability of USDA Farm Service Agency’s Emergency Assistance Program for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP) in May 2021, there was no catastrophic disaster assistance available for U.S. aquaculture and currently there are no insurance options.

While we applaud U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s expansion of aquaculture eligibility, additional changes are needed to make ELAP more effective. Catastrophic loss claims are limited to 75 percent of the crop destroyed. Claims do not cover cleanup and disposal costs, and farms with an Adjusted Gross Income greater than US$900,000 are ineligible for ELAP payments.

Aquaculture is a capital-intensive farming effort with high input costs, long growing cycles, and high value end-products. The $900,000 cap has not accounted for inflation or increases to the costs of labor, feed, equipment, and maintenance. Due to the declining value of the U.S. dollar, economic

inflation and the uniquely decentralized nature of domestic aquaculture, the AGI limit severely restricts program relevance and efficacy. Waiving the AGI cap will benefit all U.S. aquaculture farms by stabilizing supply chains for small farms and giving larger farms a disaster safety net, which buoys production chains following natural disasters.

Contact your House or Senate members and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 4127 / S. 2704 – Fair Access to Agriculture Disaster Programs Act.

Increase funding for USDA’s regional aquaculture centers

Being a successful aquaculture farmer in the United States today requires continuous adaptation to remain competitive. The five regional aquaculture centers – Northeast,

South, Midwest, West and Pacific – support critical aquaculture extension and research services that are guided by and directly benefit America’s aquaculture farmers.

The centers’ work have directly advanced the science of aquaculture production, health management, genetics, nutrition, marketing and socioeconomics. A 2017 analysis reported a 37-fold return on federal investments in aquaculture research since 2000. Without any increase since 2013, the annual budget for all five centers is a mere US$5 million. The services provided by the centers are critical to support industry growth, and additional funding is critically needed.

Contact your House or Senate members and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 3542 / S. 2619 – Promoting American Competition in Research Act.

NAA focuses on policy priorities that will make a real difference for American farmers.

Create an Office of Aquaculture within USDA

Aquaculture is entirely unlike terrestrial livestock and crop plant production in the huge diversity of aquatic animals and plants farmed, farming methods, farm sizes and markets. An office focused on aquaculture and an advisory committee to inform the office and agency are needed to educate agency staff across the many programs beneficial to U.S. aquaculture.

Contact your House or Senate members and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 3951 / S. 2211 – Sustaining Healthy Ecosystems, Livelihoods, and Local Seafood Act!

Expand USDA services

The U.S. farming community recognizes the USDA as their lead agency. The 2020 agencyto-farming community analysis, Aquaculture is Agriculture, illuminated a variety of specific programs that would benefit aquaculture farmers given emphasis and authority.

The NAA supports these four priorities which empower USDA to better serve the aquaculture industry:

1. Expand eligibility to seaweed farmers through the research, technology transfer, and economic development programs already available to terrestrial crops.

2. Expand aquaculture farm eligibility within USDA programs and establish a definition of aquaculture that is inclusive of all commodity types.

3. Create Organic Standards for aquaculture that allows U.S. aquaculture farmers to remain competitive with seafood imports labelled as organic under foreign standards.

4. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service should regulate biotechnology for livestock, poultry and aquaculture products. The Coordinated Framework for

the Regulation of Biotechnology severely limits opportunities to improve the health and welfare of animals, adapt to climate change or improve our competitiveness.

Amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act

An Aquaculture Depredation Order existed from 1998 to 2016 under the authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It allowed the USDA Wildlife Services to work directly with fish farmers to implement non-lethal and lethal techniques to deter double-crested cormorants livestock predation.

This Order reduced an administrative burden for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by eliminating permitting on a farm-byfarm basis and creating a very successful collaborative effort with USDA to mitigate economic losses.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, especially 16 U.S. Code § 704, should be amended to permanently invest USDA Wildlife Services with authority to issue bird depredation permits only for agricultural crops and livestock.

Update the Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act inadvertently prevents the opportunity for U.S. aquaculture farmers to contribute husbandry expertise to help restore at-risk wild populations and benefit from a captive-bred exemption allowed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

A captive-bred exemption should be created for listed species, and within ESA Section 4(d), recognize farmer and rancher animal services that assist state and federal agencies in the recovery of listed or at-risk species through public or private captive breeding directed towards population recovery.

Oppose presumptive prohibitions on Nonnative Species Trade

Injurious wildlife risk management is most effectively accomplished through Tribal and state governments. As non-native species simply do not pose equal risks across the nation’s various eco-regions or under different captivity conditions, we oppose efforts to amend the Lacey Act which attempt to empower the Secretary of the Interior to list species under Emergency Rule without due process or prohibit the interstate movement of Injurious Wildlife within the continental United States. The nation’s capability to assess and respond to non-native risks could be improved by providing funding to state and local governments to improve regional risk management capabilities, classifying accidental violations as minor misdemeanors, and publicly posting real-time federal, state, and tribal regulations for non-native species.

U.S. aquaculture farmers, in all their great diversity, share far more commonalities than differences, especially at the federal level. Complex, costly, duplicative, and onerous regulations present the single most substantial barrier to the success of American aquaculture in all its forms.

Farmers, suppliers, academic and government staff, and students must unite to create “one strong industry, one strong voice” that moves the needle for all of U.S. aquaculture. For 32 years, a group of proud farmers has been fighting to achieve this goal, and today more than ever, the National Aquaculture Association needs your support in D.C.

www.nationalaquaculture.org

Oyster Trays stacked with quality

Ingenuity and insult

Perspectives on Indigenous aquaculture in North America

BY LYNN FANTOM

Some 3,500 years ago, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest created “clam gardens” by building rock walls at the low tide mark with flattened terraces landward. They varied construction style based on beach geology and ecology but consistently chose areas with strong tides that would deposit pulverized shell and sediment in the terraces. This design produced clam yields two to four times greater than open beaches, according to scientists. And by keeping clams cooler, the walled structures also made clams safer to eat.

The “ingenuity of clam garden engineers,” as a researcher wrote, is just one example of Indigenous aquaculture being studied and revived today. As cross-cultural awareness overall has grown in both Canada and America in recent decades, an appreciation of Native communities’ expertise has spilled over into aquaculture. At the same time, political clashes regarding aquaculture, especially in Washington state and British Columbia, have increasingly thwarted understanding of how these techniques can contribute to a new sustainable food system.

“Without such knowledge of past cultural advances, societies worldwide will lose one of their greatest opportunities for more socially and environmentally sound forms of food production. The aquaculture profession will continue to limp along… due to the tiresome constraints repeated over and over about a lack of ‘social license’ for aquaculture,” wrote Barry Antonio Costa-Pierce last year in a paper entitled “The Anthropology of Aquaculture.”

Still, progress is now playing out on North America’s coasts, as well as the Great Lakes in between, where Native communities are involved in farming finfish, shellfish, and seaweed for economic diversity and cultural preservation—as well as food. As Native American activist Winona LaDuke said a few years ago, “You can’t say you’re sovereign if you can’t feed yourself.”

But sometimes, that path forward has been ambushed by politics or obscured by complex technology. During a 2022 panel called “Indigenous Perspectives” at the Washington Seaweed Knowledge Symposium, Loni Grinnell-Greninger said that,

Loni Grinnell-Greninger celebrating a salmon ceremony with the S’Klallam Tribe.

PHOTO: JOSEPH PRICE

in her role as vice chair of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, she relies on in-house experts to help “translate Western science methods, tools, and research into our Indigenous Jamestown perspective and then figure out how to beautifully blend them together so that I am stewarding the lands as I’m supposed to, as the Creator told me to, thousands of generations ago.”

Political obstacles in Washington

Just a month before that conference, Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz announced an executive order banning commercial finfish net pen aquaculture in state-owned aquatic lands. In a much-watched move, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe sued. But almost a year later, a state superior court judge ruled in November that

the order is “an inward-facing directive to department leadership and all staff to develop agency rules, policies, and procedures to prohibit commercial net pen aquaculture.” Until that occurs, the order “lacks legal operative effect.”

Still, the public statements by Commissioner Franz had “a chilling effect on the entire aquaculture sector,” according to a

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Government of Canada, British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council signed a historic tripartite nature conservation framework agreement.

PHOTO: UNION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA INDIAN CHIEFS

Springhills Fish Farm in Manitoulin Island, Ont., Canada PHOTO: SPRINGHILLS FISH

press release from the Northwest Aquaculture Alliance, which joined Jamestown in the lawsuit. And now for the upcoming year, industry watchers contend Franz will likely block new farm leases as she wraps up her tenure as public lands commissioner.

This past November, Franz announced her bid to represent Washington’s 6th Congressional District, with the endorsement of incumbent U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, who announced he won’t seek a seventh term.

However, in an email statement, CEO and Chairman W. Ron Allen said, “The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is moving forward with our plan to rear native steelhead trout and sablefish in Port Angeles on the Salish Sea. It is unconscionable that Commissioner Hilary Franz continues to illegally block our tribe from producing the traditional food our tribal citizens need to sustain our cultural way of life, and violates our treaty rights within our own fishery territory.”

The tribe’s commitment to aquaculture stands strong. Working through its subsidiary, Jamestown Seafood, it already has a successful shellfish seed operation. In addition, it grows, harvests, processes and ships both oysters and geoduck. At the same time, it harvests wild salmon and honors that tradition.

Mixed messages in B.C. First Nations to the north in British Columbia (B.C.) have divergent views toward aquaculture.

In early November, the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance convened in Ottawa to lobby the federal government to proceed with plans to transition away from net pen salmon farms in B.C. waters by 2025. The organization contends that net pens allow diseases and parasites to spread to wild salmon. Among those with whom the chiefs met was Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, who was appointed last July.

Three weeks later, the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship (FNFFS), which advocates for the right of Native title holders to decide if, when, and how to operate finfish aquaculture in their traditional waters, appeared on Parliament Hill calling for “the immediate renewal of long-term salmon farm licensing (nine years) for investment security and growth,” according to a press release. The coalition delivered to Lebouthillier a “new, positive plan” to solve what’s been a divisive issue in B.C.,” said spokesperson, Dallas Smith. Among its components are greater federal government investment in Indigenous-led aquaculture science and technology and creation of a new Indigenous Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences in Campbell River.

The FNFFS is also calling for the completion of social and economic impact studies related to aquaculture. Looking at The Tlowitsis Nation’s decade-long relationship with Grieg Seafood, for example, shows just how multi-dimensional those impacts are. Tribal ‘guardians’ monitor the farms at three

sites in the traditional Tlowitsis territory of Clio Channel. Other members are Grieg employees. The tribe also holds a contract with Grieg for net cleaning.

Tribal stewardship

While some conduct commercial aquaculture themselves in independent or joint ventures, Tribes also act in governing capacities, with departments of natural resources of their own.

At the federal level in the U.S., for example, it is policy for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to involve tribes collaboratively, before and throughout decision-making. Blair Paul of the Skokomish Department of Natural Resources in Washington state explained that “the Army Corps of Engineers sends us the permit for review to see if we are going to object.” A reason might be interference with fishing rights. “If that did occur, the permit would be on hold until the proponent of the project worked it out with us and we released that hold,” he said.

Some aquaculture companies collaborate directly with tribes. Jeff Dickison of the Department of Natural Resources of the Squaxin Island Tribe, known as “People of the Water,” has worked closely with Taylor Shellfish Farms, for example. When Taylor was proposing a large floating shellfish nursery for Oakland Bay in Washington, it consulted with the tribe early on and designed a system that could be towed away to accommodate seasonal tribal fisheries.

Springhills Fish Farm’s net pens in Lake Huron, Ont. PHOTO: SPRINGHILLS FISH

In Ontario, farmers seeking licenses for projects in Lake Huron have two options: a Government of Ontario license or one from the First Nation. But even if it’s an Ontario license, consultation occurs with the First Nation.

“There is a huge precedent that the First Nations oversee their fisheries and water resources. They are the ultimate stewards and authorities in their territories,” said RJ Taylor, the current managing director of the Ontario Aquaculture Association (OAA) who is himself a second-generation farmer and co-owner of Springhills Fish.

Today, in that province, there are almost a dozen net pen sites in operation, the vast majority of which is in partnership with Indigenous communities which have issued licenses and have joint equity.

Projects today and in future Waubetek Business Development Corporation, which describes itself as Aboriginal-owned and controlled, is a member of the OAA that provides business financing and consulting to First Nation communities and entrepreneurs throughout northeastern Ontario.

“Waubetek” means “the future” in the Ojibwe language, and the organization sees aquaculture’s value increasing, now and in years to come. Two aquaculture experts on staff are working with some three dozen First Nation groups in Ontario, helping to identify opportunities, advising on business plans, and conducting training. Projects now range from a small restocking program for walleye to planning a recirculating aquaculture farm for whitefish.

Eastward in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), the Miawpukek First Nation (MFN), which had agreed to investigate breeding lumpfish for use by Mowi, is exploring a partnership with Marbase, backed by Norwegian aquaculture expert Bjorn Apeland. The tribe would hold a 51 percent equity position in a joint hatchery to raise both lumpfish and wolffish, according to Marbase CEO Paul Antle.

“I have personally known Chief Mi’sel Joe for almost 30 years and was delighted that we could consider a project together,” Antle said, adding that MFN would bring “relationships with the aquaculture sector, existing knowhow, a sustainable aquaculture philosophy, capital, and social/environmental alignment.”

Mutual learning

Back in Ontario, RJ Taylor talked about his personal experiences raising trout and steelhead with Sheshegwaning First Nation. The tribe introduced him to the tradition of both

opening and closing ceremonies each season.

On the final day of the harvest, he said, members of the tribe and Springhills convened down at the shore, along with their families, from grandparents to kids. “Everyone stood in a circle on a very cold day in January and talked about why they’re grateful for the farm,” said Taylor.

One of the elders had requested tamarack wood to burn at the ceremony: the event could help introduce its youth to tribal

customs. Tamarack grows from Labrador to West Virginia, across southern Canada to northern British Columbia and Alaska. Although a destructive insect reduced the population during the early 20th century, these trees—which have many traditional uses among Native peoples—thrive today.

RJ Taylor was able to find tamarack for the ceremony that day, carrying on a Native tradition and creating a new one for his company.

Growing pains for California kelp

BY JULIA HOLLISTER

Kelp farming is gaining popularity in the State of California, but the permitting process remains waterlogged.

Kelp aquaculture can contribute to climate change resilience and help mitigate the effects of climate change by reducing ocean acidification and carbon sequestration.

There are also economic gains from kelp and seaweed aquaculture, in terms of job creation, contributing to and reinvigorating our working waterfront and coastal communities, without the carbon footprint of imports.

A panel at the recent Seaweed Festival in San Diego, Calif. drew a large and interested crowd last November. In fact, according to panelists and organizers of the event, the seaweed farming panel tends to be one of the most popular panels at the festival.

The goal of the panel was to share with the audience the state of seaweed cultivation in California and information about the growing interest in seaweed farming.

“There are many different potential applications of cultivating seaweed, including for human consumption, medicines and cosmetics, feedstock for animals to reduce

methane emissions, raw materials for bioplastics and other industrial applications, and as a biofuel source,” said Lauren Linsmayer, senior science officer at California Ocean Science Trust and panel facilitator at the Seaweed Festival.

“There’s a growing body of science showing that farming seaweed can be net beneficial to the environment and lead to restorative, regenerative, and conservation outcomes when done responsibly. We need to ensure that science is serving as a guidepost for the seaweed farming industry and that seaweed farming is being done responsibly within a science-informed state regulatory framework.”

About kelp

Seaweed is in the algae family, and kelp is essentially the largest subgroup of seaweed. Algae is a group of aquatic organisms that are mainly photosynthetic and nucleus-bearing.

In other words, they’re not your average plant: they lack stems, roots, and other common plant characteristics. The beauty of algae is that it absorbs the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide and produces approximately 50 percent of oxygen here on Earth.

Ocean farmers grow kelp vertically by wrapping tiny kelp plants grown on a string around a nautical rope, which hangs below the water’s surface from buoys.

California has a long history of cultivating seaweed on its shores. According to the California Sea Grant website, commercial seaweed cultivation first arrived in the Unites States around the 1960s.

In 1972, U.S. researchers explored the idea of growing kelp in hopes of converting the product to methane for fuel. Several experimental offshore kelp farms were launched during this time but it proved “economically uncompetitive” with fossil fuels and early efforts never grew to scale.

In 2019, the California Sea Grant reported the U.S. produced 3,394 tons of seaweed, just 0.01 percent of the global supply, most of which was wild harvested. By comparison, China leads the world, producing more than 20 million tones, nearly all farmed.

Barriers of entry

Randy Lovell, State Aquaculture Coordinator for the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, said there is a lot of interest in obtaining

licenses for “few have the stamina to get through permitting as it currently is set up.”

“Yes, it is a challenge to establish a site in the public space that is the ocean off California. But that is not because of a specific law,” he explained. “It is because of the competition for coastal uses that avoid conflict with each other, and concerns about ANY type of development and its environmental impacts in the ocean (not specific just to aquaculture).”

California permitting is unique from other states as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires extensive analysis and mitigation of environmental impacts and a robust public process. The CEQA process takes time and is expensive.

California does not generally have standard permit conditions or timelines for aquaculture projects due to varying regulatory authorities. Each project is individually considered which is time-intensive and requires significant agency staff resources to evaluate site-specific parameters (which vary throughout the state).

No new California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) aquaculture bottom leases have been approved in the past two decades.

Diane Windham is the West Coast regional aquaculture coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries division. She said the primary barriers to entry for offshore aquaculture, including kelp aquaculture is the time and cost of the regulatory permitting and environmental review process.

“In the U.S., we are on a learning curve to better understand the various types of aquaculture, and how to assess potential impacts from offshore aquaculture projects,” said

Windham. “Because there are not very many permitted offshore aquaculture projects in the U.S. or in California, there is not a lot of baseline or foundational information to inform our analyses.”

Windham said the regulatory permitting agencies are learning how to adapt these processes to a different type of action. Permitting can take years to navigate and there is a cost associated with that – it makes it harder for smaller “mom and pop” type applicants to navigate the process.

Kelp harvesting vessel, pulling up grow lines of mature kelp for harvest

As the process continues to evolve and more projects get permitted, Windham said this will create a baseline of information and experience that can inform future projects.

“Kelp farming laws that are developed in unison with the kelp farming industry could be helpful,” she said. “It is important to develop guidance/protocols based on the best

available science and feasibility. Developing criteria, guidance, protocols, best practices, etc… have to be developed with industry to ensure that they are feasible and practicable.”

Room to grow Kelp aquaculture can contribute to climate change resilience and help mitigate the

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effects of climate change by reducing ocean acidification and carbon sequestration. There are vast economic and health benefits to be realized through marine aquaculture, including kelp aquaculture.

Providing safe and healthy domestically produced seafood products contributes to food security. Locally produced aquaculture

Diver inspecting kelp growing lines

Close up of giant kelp on a growing line

products, including kelp, increase the availability of food products, contributing to food security and reducing our dependence on imports.

There are economic gains from kelp and seaweed aquaculture (in addition to other forms of domestic aquaculture) in terms of job creation, contributing to and reinvigorating our working waterfront and coastal communities, without the carbon footprint of imports.

“Kelp is also an alternative ingredient in cattle feed, to reduce methane emissions from cattle, to offset ocean acidification for cosmetic products, for biofuel production, and the R&D and potential for using kelp for carbon sequestration in the ocean,” said Linsmayer.

A recent report by the Aquarium of the Pacific states that California continues to see a wide variety of marine aquaculture projects in the coming years in both state and federal waters.

Types of current and future projects include climate projects to grow seaweed to sequester carbon, produce methane-reducing additives to cattle feed, or provide a low-carbon additive to fuel. Others provide shoreline protection from erosion by dampening wave energy, etc.

Testing grounds

The Moss Landing Marine Lab, south of San Francisco, studies kelp. This is an ideal area. There are sand dunes, sandy beaches, and extensive kelp forest habitats along the rocky shoreline. Some of the most productive kelp forests and intertidal areas can be found in this region.

One operation that has secured permits to operate an experimental kelp farm in federal waters (off Santa Barbara) is Ocean Rainforest Inc.

The biotechnology company, located in the Faroe Islands and in California, has many exciting things going on, including a seed bank called AltaSeads Conservancy for preserving kelp genetic diversity for generations to come, whether for restoration or selective breeding needs.

“Ocean Rainforest began in 2010, when we combined our knowledge of this unique ocean environment with our strong entrepreneurial spirit, to cultivate seaweed,” said Eliza Harrison, Ocean Rainforest director of California operations.

“We started growing and harvesting the same species of wild seaweeds that formed part of our ancestors’ diets over a thousand years ago, because we wanted to have a positive impact on people and the environment.”

Harrison said the company has an inbuilt focus on research and innovation to explore the potential of this versatile sea plant and meet growing market demand.

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In Japan, where the seriola q. get harvested and brought live to the processing plant

THE MOBILE AQUACULTURIST

Erik Vis shares his story of adventure in aquaculture BY

SEYITAN MORITIWON

Vis means “fish” in Dutch. Erik Vis took that as a sign that he was born for a life in aquaculture.

The Dutchman studied aquaculture at Wageningen University from 1996 to 2002, in the Netherlands. After an internship at Nutreco in 2002 (Marine Harvest now known as Mowi), he was able to travel around operating fish farms.

After spending five years at Marine Harvest Japan, he moved to Singapore in 2008, where he was production manager at Barramundi Asia Pte Ltd., which he helped found.

After about seven years, he moved to Panama in 2015 where he worked as a marine farm manager and director of farming operations at Open Blue Sea Farms Inc. In Hawaii, he worked at Blue Ocean Mariculture for about seven months in 2020, before moving to work with the National Aquaculture Group in Saudi Arabia in August 2020.

His more than 20 years in fish farming have led him to nomadic adventures around the world.

“I didn’t realize that I would go all over the world. That is so cool about our job at the

moment. There’s so many options all over the world we can work. And it’s been a very big adventure ever since,” Vis said.

Most recently, he has settled in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he takes on a new role as Innovasea’s Aquaculture Services lead. In his new role (since last July), he harnesses his wealth of experience to provide support and planning strategies to help other aquaculture businesses.

From being an intern in Japan and now to Canada, we explore this mobile aquaculturist’s journey.

PHOTOS: ERIK VIS

The salt is a little bit higher but it was very good tasting fish.

ANA: What was the biggest culture shock you experienced in different countries?

Vis: In Japan, it’s just completely different. In a meeting, you cannot be very direct, like Dutch persons are. So, you have to sort of talk about the weather, talk about everything but work and then, slowly, you build it up. You need to be patient, you need to build a relationship. But when you prove yourself, they sort of let you in. The food and the cuisine are amazing. And people were always polite and nice, like Canada.

The people in Panama were very nice and very warm. Then you go to Singapore, which is more Chinese that are a bit rough, more business.

I came from Japan, where everywhere you have aquaculture, to Singapore where there were like 100 farmers, but they were all relatively small farmers. And we were trying to become a big farm with big pens, but there was a different kind of approach to it so you needed to do everything yourself.

I hired a guy from Japan, he was teaching my guys how to sew nets. Amazing guy. And then on top of that, I played rugby for the national team in Singapore. And then in Hawaii, Covid hit. Couldn’t do anything, couldn’t go outside. It was only six months, was a bit short.

In Saudi, there’s a very big emphasis on religion. I was living in a desert, literally. So I could walk out of my apartment and I was in the desert. It’s a male society, you don’t meet any women. You don’t have any female colleagues. That’s slowly changing.

I’m very new here (Canada). The job I’m doing now is very

different. So now I’m visiting farms and potential customers

and Ian Roberts, Director of Communications at MOWI Canada, Scotland, Ireland

with Mari-Len De Guzman, Aquaculture Writer and Editor

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Erik Vis diving with whalesharks in Panama.

PHOTOS: ERIK VIS

to talk about fish farming, which of course is completely different than farming fish on the spot every day. So it’s like a big career shift for me. I don’t think I can compare other countries. I mean, Halifax is amazing. Nice. Apart from the weather. Nice people, everything is nice. I’m not farming fish, so it’s a different thing.

ANA: What are the job opportunities in other places? How difficult is it to get a new job in a different country?

Vis: You get approached by headhunters. It’s a very small world. The new platform to use is LinkedIn if you’re open to moving, you have to go on LinkedIn. It’s very old-fashioned to think that you’ll be found if you are not on LinkedIn. It’s the same as Instagram and

everything, you need a few good keywords and things that you want to be focused on and then people can find you.

With our background now, I think you can work all over the world. It’s a chance and an adventure to do with your family, if that is possible. Of course, it’s very difficult to run a fish farm in a different country with different cultures, different languages, and different issues, but it’s an experience that you will learn from. So for my fellow farmers, open up. Open up to the world.

ANA: What future do you hope to see for aquaculture globally?

Vis: A lot of different warm water species we are developing and we’re focusing on genetics and our biggest issue with the warm water species is the FCR (feed conversion ratio). Salmon

now has an FCR of 1.1 to 1. Very good. Although, warm water species are not there yet. But we’re catching up.

Part of the catching up is better husbandry, better genetics, better feed, and less protein in

the feed. So you’re also working on the fish-in, fish-out ratio. So all these things are developing, and I think the next 10 years, that’s going to be the big thing, that you are trying to be carbon neutral, and trying to be thinking about the environment. On top of that, we have a lot of help with AI, or in my company, we’re using a lot of AI to recognize fish behaviour and see if you need to feed more or less.

There’s not enough young people getting into it (aquaculture) and I think, although I may be romanticizing it a little bit, this is a cool job. I did a sort of R&D education, if I knew that it was going to be this exciting, I’d have also added business management in there for myself. And I think people underestimate that. We need more people who are educated and want to pull up their sleeves and then later grow into management.

Erik Vis at Blue Ocean Mariculture with seriola r. broodstock.

Nova Sea partners with Maritech for cloud software in seafood procurement

Nova Sea is partnering with Maritech Purchase & Sales to upgrade its technological solutions.

Maritech Purchase & Sales is a cloud application designed to streamline seafood procurement and sales from any device in Europe and North America. The software is also ideal for wholesalers and traders without their production.

Geir Johan Birkeland, head of IT at Nova Sea, said Maritech was a well-considered and natural choice for the company.

“We have already worked closely with Maritech in the pre-project we conducted last year, and we find them to be a solid partner,” said Birkeland. “The new cloud software will enhance efficiency across various departments within our company, from coordination to sales, invoicing, and accounting. This will provide us with better control and also create synergies beyond the functions directly involved in the project.”

Klas Vangen, vice-president of sales at Maritech is happy Nova Sea chose them.

“We have learned a lot from them through our work together in recent months. Their expertise and dedication are crucial to Nova Sea’s success and have also added significant value to our collaboration. We look forward to achieving new milestones together and helping them continue increasing their growth,” Vangen said. www.novasea.no • www.maritech.com

ScaleAQ urges farmers to check mooring system for safety

Aquaculture innovation, technology company ScaleAQ is reminding fish farmers to check their mooring system for the winter.

Good mooring systems require in-depth knowledge of the location the facility is to be deployed in.

“We leverage your knowledge of local conditions along with thorough analyses to ensure that our mooring systems not only meet but exceed all requirements,” according to a company statement.

ScaleAQ provides in-house expertise in marine engineering, including complete system analysis. Staff can use computer programs to simulate the conditions on a given site on a stormy day. Floating collars, nets and all moorings are being modelled in the program.

By entering data for currents, winds and waves for the location, the program calculates the forces the mooring and the floating collar and net will be subjected to within the safety margins which are required in the NS9415 standard and the NYTEK regulation.

“All parts are customized to fit each other, accredited mooring analyses with a focus on the most robust solutions, in-house and third-party control for all standardized solutions that they do not produce themselves and tested in both simulated and real environments for years,” the company said.

www.scaleaq.com

Aquaculture suppliers partner for provision of submersible cages

Aquaculture industry suppliers, Smir and Badinotti have formalized a commercial cooperation agreement for the provision of submersible cages.

The companies started discussions earlier this year. After meetings and Smir’s on-site exploration of an aquaculture facility featuring Badinotti’s submersible cages, including a visit to the net factory in Slovakia, the collaboration has now been officially established.

According to a press release, Smir looks forward to presenting their collaborative solutions to the Norwegian market.

“Given existing demand, especially in Norway for maintaining fish below the lice belt, Smir is currently in active discussions with Norwegian customers and is gearing up to promptly launch a trial program at a fish farm,” the press release states.

This will be part of Smir’s strategy to offer both preventive solutions and treatment tools in the fight against lice.

“For Badinotti, this commercial partnership marks a significant step in addressing emerging challenges in the aquaculture industry. Through technological developments and strategic enhancements, Badinotti aspires to establish itself as a leader in providing containment structures for the aquaculture sector.”

www.smir.no • www.badinotti.com

Sergio Biancheri, General Manager EMEA at Badinotti and Øyvind Nymark, CEO at Smir

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