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BY MARYAM FARAG
Sustainability comes first
As always, I am compelled to shed light on an issue of utmost importance: the salmon farming industry in Canada. This multi-faceted sector has been a subject of both praise and controversy, raising crucial questions about sustainability, environmental impact, and the future of our marine ecosystems.
Salmon farming has provided employment opportunities, bolstered the economy of coastal communities, and satisfied the growing demand for this highly sought-after fish. However, there have been challenges and concerns that have accompanied this industry’s expansion.
As the government intents to propose additional closures of salmon farms, and after recently closing 40 percent of existing farms since 2020, collaboration between industry, scientists and Indigenous communities has become increasingly vital in shaping the future of salmon farming in Canada.
Indigenous knowledge and traditional practices can offer valuable insights into sustainable aquaculture methods and environmental stewardship.
Furthermore, advancements in technology and research hold promise for the future of salmon farming. Closed containment systems, which provide a controlled environment for salmon, have shown potential in reducing the environmental risks associated with open net pens. Innovative practices such as land-based salmon farming and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture are being explored as sustainable alternatives.
As consumers, we also have a role to play in shaping the salmon farming industry. By demanding transparency and supporting eco-certified products, we can encourage responsible practices and drive the industry toward more sustainable methods. Choosing farmed salmon from certified operations that prioritize environmental stewardship can make a significant difference in promoting positive change.
Together, we can shape a future where salmon farming in Canada thrives while preserving the health and biodiversity of our precious oceans.
From all of us at Aquaculture North America, stay safe and well.
Aquaculture North America’s Editorial Advisory Board:
Ian Roberts | Sandra Shumway | Jason Mann | Jeanne McKnight | Mykolas Kamaitis | Jamie Baker
Open letter urges Trudeau to support industry
A joint open letter has been sent to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging him to change course on the federal government’s approach to opennet pen fish farming.
The federal government has pledged to phase out open-net pen farming by 2025 and Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray is expected to present options for a B.C. salmon farms transition framework soon. The letter was co-signed by Tim Kennedy, president and CEO of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, as well as other representatives of the Canadian Aquaculture Suppliers Association, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship, among others.
“To date, recent government actions have shut down 40 percent of B.C. salmon farming production,” reads one section of the letter. “Your government continues to consider actions that could result in further reductions, despite the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ peer-reviewed science that says there is minimal or negligible effects from salmon farms on wild salmon. You have said many times that science and evidence will form the basis of policy and regulation under your government, and we remind you of your commitment.”
The letter also cites that salmon farming provides jobs for over 14,000 Canadians and produces high-quality and sustainable protein to millions in Canada and around the world.
Between food retail, food banks, processors, feed manufacturers and others, over 3,000 different companies supply the farming sector. Further, it’s economic benefits are crucial for a variety of different communities.
“Grounded in evidence-based policy, it is Canada’s obligation to deliver the best, sustainable, high-quality and affordable food to Canadians, while also growing jobs, driving economic growth and supplying this food to the world,” the letter concludes. “We appeal to you to support B.C. salmon farmers as an integral and growing part of Canadian food production.”
– Matt Jones
RASTECH23 addresses workforce gaps in aquaculture
A marine science degree from the University of Ohio would likely be very different from a marine science degree from the University of Maine.
In a presentation at the 2023 RASTECH Conference and Trade Fair in Orlando, Fla., Mary Scarlett Tudor of the University of Maine’s Aquaculture Research Institute (ARI) noted that it can be a challenge to determine if an applicant has the required skills even if they have a seemingly relevant education, so they developed micro-credentials.
“Micro-credentials are a digital badge,” said Tudor. “As an employer, if one of my students that has a credential, they can actually embed it in their CV, you can click on that credential and it will take you to a University of Maine website to tell you exactly the skill sets the student showed proficiency in to earn that badge.”
Tudor also spoke about the developing occupational competencies through ARI’s experiential courses in aquaculture and an industry-partnered externship program. Given the importance of those occupational competencies, Christian Brayden of the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA) said that the MAA has pushed occupational standards, so that all jobs and training could be better understood.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have introduced the Aquaculture Science Advice Handbook: Policies, Processes, Resources, and Opportunities.
“It’s providing information to regulators at the state level, federal level and sometimes the local level,” said Ken Riley, chief of NOAA’s science branch. “Aquaculture itself can be regulated and managed in many different ways, and we want to communicate how our scientists are using their expertise in helping inform regulation of aquaculture.”
Aquaculture permitting is under the auspices of several different federal and state agencies. While Riley noted that NOAA itself is not directly involved, the shared knowledge of their multi-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers is often used as part of that decision making process.
National-level guidance of this type has not previously existed. The 54-page handbook provides best practices and successful models for aquaculture science advice development and describes laws and policies around aquaculture permitting as it relates to scientific advice.
In the context of ongoing criticisms of open net pen fish farming, the handbook may be viewed as an attempt to address misinformation. However, that is not the purpose of the handbook.
“We’re not using this to dispel any myths, beliefs or misinformation about aquaculture,” said Riley. “We’re just stating that when we publish our science, it’s based on the best available information that we have at the current time.”
The Aquaculture Science Advice Handbook is available on NOAA’s website.
– Matt Jones
Tim Kennedy
Bio-ropes could help reduce carbon footprint of aquaculture operations
Spanish tech center AZTI are developing ropes made of biopolymers – while still in early development stages, the results of their efforts look extremely promising.
New ropes made from bio-materials could help significantly reduce the amount of conventional plastics utilized in aquaculture processes. Spanish science and technology center AZTI claims that the biopolymer created ropes could help achieve a 34 percent reduction in carbon footprint compared to the ropes that are traditionally used in shellfish or algae aquaculture.
Testing has thus far indicated that the effectiveness of the bio-ropes is virtually identical to traditional plastic ropes, but the potential ecological benefits will provide an advantage.
“It’s an aspect of decarbonizing aquaculture,” said Leire Arantzamendi, a senior researcher with AZTI. “They are also compostable at the end of life, so that’s another advantage compared to the fossil-based ones, as they usually end up in the landfill or an incinerator, which puts more and more CO2 in the atmosphere.”
While further testing is required to find out if the bio-ropes will be recyclable, they have determined that they are compostable at an industrial scale.
“Our hypothesis related to the scientific literature so far, is that we perhaps cannot expect these bio-based ropes to produce microplastics or at least to produce them to not be so ecotoxic,” said Arantzamendi.
There is some literature, she notes, that has indicated the bio-plastics can be similarly toxic to conventional plastics, but that research was done at much higher concentrations than you would find in the marine environment. In over a year of testing Arantzamendi says that AZTI have yet to find any microplastics in their water.
The project has already seen some significant interest from mussel and seaweed producers in North America – those farms that have expressed interest will likely take part in further assessments and trials as they continue the path towards commercialization.
With ongoing testing, Arantzamendi estimates that, if they are found to be viable, the bio-ropes will be introduced into the market in less than five years.
– Matt Jones
Flag Tie Markers
Flag tie markers are another cost-effective way to secure and identify shellfish equipment. They are available in a variety of lengths and marking area sizes to accommodate specific requirements. They can also be hot stamped for identification purposes.
• Lengths from 3" to 18"
• Flag sizes from 1-1/8" x ¾", 1-7/8" x 1-1/8" and 2" x 3"
• Tensile strength of 120 lbs.
• Available in Blue, Green, Ivory, Orange, Red, Yellow
• Available with blank flags that may be custom printed or Write-on
Custom Printed Cable Ties
Cable ties are vastly used in the shellfish industry for securing cages and bags. They are a cost-effective and simple way to ensure equipment is not susceptible to tampering. Available in a wide range of colors, they are also used for identification purposes.
• Lengths from 4" to 60"
• Tensile strengths from 18 lb. to 250 lb.
• Available in 16 different colors, including UV black and fluorescent
• Permanent hot stamping with company name, date, lot number, etc.
AquaBounty GE Atlantic salmon: the update
Markets, sales, farm construction and more
BY TREENA HEIN
It’s been a long road from creation of the AquaBounty genetically engineered (GE) salmon in 1989 to today, with current production sitting at about 1,200 tons a year and sales “at competitive prices” across Canada and the U.S. It’s also approved for sale in Brazil.
“Thanks to this one-time trait modification, AquaBounty’s GE Atlantic salmon reach prime harvest weight faster and more efficiently than conventional Atlantic salmon grown in sea cages,” says AquaBounty president and CEO, Sylvia Wulf. “Typically, in the 18- to 20-month range versus 32-36 months.”
She adds that “demand for our fish continues to exceed our supply, and during March 2023, the Indiana farm had its highest monthly harvest output to date.”
The Albany, Ind. farm is currently the only AquaBounty site where harvest is occurring. The first harvest started over two years ago, during second quarter 2021. Operations there have been impacted by planned maintenance and repair activities, including extensive repairs to the roof of the processing building. Wulf describes the
facility as continuing to be “a valuable learning environment for our operations team, helping us refine the efficiency of our production processes, while aiding in design improvements for our farm in Pioneer, Ohio.”
Construction at that site, the company’s first planned largescale commercial salmon farm, began in April 2022 but was paused on June 2 due to a substantial increase in its estimated cost of completion. Wulf points out that the entire construction industry has been affected by inflation and supply chain challenges, resulting particularly in higher labor costs. (Another factor is continued negotiations
Growing demand
Speaking of growth, AquaBounty’s small grow-out facility on Prince Edward Island has been converted to exclusively focus on egg production. This ensures AquaBounty not only has a sufficient supply of GE eggs for its own needs, but is able to have non-GE eggs available to meet the growing demand for this product in the North American market.
That market looks good at present, says Wulf, with “very positive interest” from a variety of customers in distribution, food service and retailers, particularly in the mid-west and the eastern Atlantic regions. “It is gratifying to see that our customer partners understand the many benefits AquaBounty’s Atlantic salmon provide,” she says, “and that they embrace technology that will bring more food to more people in a cost effective and sustainable manner.”
with Williams County, of which Wulf didn’t elaborate.)
She says, however, that AquaBounty is committed to the Indiana farm’s construction “with a dedicated effort to be operational in the next several years.”
She also stated that they will undertake a detailed review to evaluate financing options, a potential smaller scope or size for the farm, and a possible phased construction effort for the full 10,000 metric ton design.
She adds, “our growth plans haven’t changed. We will adjust the plan and approach for Ohio and continue to pursue the other growth opportunities we’ve previously communicated.”
The company is also pursuing potential partnerships in land-based RAS salmon farming outside of North America, “We are targeting countries that are large consumers and importers of salmon such as Israel, Brazil and China,” says Wulf. “Israel is a priority for a couple of reasons. They’re very forward thinking in terms of technology, particularly genetic engineering, as well as digital technology. They’re also very progressive in terms of the way they think about renewable energy and water usage, so we think that there’s much to be learned from a market like Israel.”
Looking at the big picture, Wulf see the landscape of the salmon industry as highly favorable, which supports moving forward with more RAS farms.
“The net pen farmers are seeing their own challenges, which constrains supply,” she explains. “RAS will play a critical role in the supply side in the future since demand remains strong. AquaBounty’s operational expertise, R&D competence and vertical integration create competitive advantages when compared with other RAS farmers.”
AquaBounty will also be investigating the farming of potential new species like shrimp.
Consumer acceptance
There has been much criticism of genetically-engineered livestock from many angles over the last several decades, ranging from food safety to environmental concerns to labelling.
Some countries and regions allow GE livestock production (conventional livestock types and aquaculture species) and others don’t, with the European Union being among those jurisdictions that do not allow it. There are also distinctions in some jurisdictions between genetically-engineered and gene-edited livestock and crops. Where production of these foods is allowed, labelling has been a concern. As with regulations for livestock and crop production, the rules about labelling genetically-modified (GM, which could be either or both GE and gene-edited) foods around the world are not consistent, as recently noted by Dr. Karen Massel, a research fellow with the Centre for Crop Science at the University of Queensland, Australia. This mean that many consumers may not realize they’re already eating them.
For example, “the most widely-used enzyme in cheese making, rennet, is produced from a GM bacterium,” she recently stated in an article that’s appeared recently in many media outlets. She added that “GMs and gene-edited cereal and oilseed products are also widely used in livestock feeds.”
Regarding food safety of AquaBounty’s GE Atlantic salmon, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) long ago held an open public meeting, took public comments and released draft environmental documents for public review. The agency determined that food from the AquaBounty salmon is as safe to eat as food from non-GE Atlantic salmon, with a comparable nutritional profile to conventional farm-raised Atlantic salmon.
However, according to a Pew Research Center survey of people in 20 countries conducted between October 2019 and March 2020, concern about GM foods is widespread globally.
In the survey, the majority of respondents in places such as Russia, Italy, India and South Korea view GM foods as generally unsafe to eat. “The balance of opinion tilts negative even in places where sizable shares say they don’t know enough about GM foods to offer a view,” stated PEW researchers at the time. “In most places, both those with higher and lower levels of education tend to see GM foods as unsafe to eat. However, people with more education, and specifically those who have completed at least three science courses during their secondary or tertiary schooling, are more inclined to see GM foods as safe.”
For her part, Wulf explains that general awareness of GM organisms, as it pertains to all food, has increased since 2019.
She notes that according to according to qualitative/quantitative research conducted by AquaBounty, “respondents with the highest household income and education levels are the most frequent consumers of seafood and salmon, show highest approval and positive perception of GMOs, and have the highest AquaBounty salmon purchase intent.”
From an environmental perspective, regarding the potential of the AquaBounty GE Atlantic salmon coming into contact with wild populations, the FDA approval process examined biological, geographical, and geophysical constraints that, in combination, “results in an extremely low likelihood” of contact. Many types of physical containment are required, as well as “strict security measures and equipment.” On the sustainability front, Wulf notes that 90 percent of the world’s fisheries are fully fished or overfished.
“We are shifting salmon production out of the ocean to landbased RAS farms,” she says. “We
use the latest RAS technology and freshwater tanks to nurture the fish in a safe, sustainable way, leveraging our decades of RAS
AQUABOUNTY
operational experience. Then, we raise our GE salmon on these farms for even greater efficiency and sustainability.”
HIGHLIGHTS, 1989 TO 2028 (full timeline at https://aquabounty.com/about-us)
1989 Researchers at Memorial University succeed in using genetic engineering to develop an Atlantic salmon that grows faster during early stages of growth. Conventional spawning has been used on the line ever since.
1991 AquaBounty (formerly AF Protein) is created
2010 FDA concludes AquAdvantage Salmon are physically the same as Atlantic salmon; safe to eat; and poses no threat to the environment when farmed in land-based contained farms.
2015 FDA approves AquaBounty salmon.
2021 First harvest of AquaBounty salmon from its Indiana and PEI farms. Pioneer, Ohio site selected as location for planned large-scale salmon farm.
2022 Construction of first 10,000 metric ton farm in Pioneer.
2028 Target date for reaching production of 55,000 tons of salmon annually.
A lifetime harnessing the power of seaweed and IMTA
BY DR. THIERRY CHOPIN, UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK/TURQUOISE REVOLUTION INC.”
On May 9, I was very honoured and pleased to receive the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Aquaculture Association of Canada (AAC) at the Aquaculture Canada 2023annualconferenceinVictoria,B.C.
I am now in excellent company as one of 18 recipients of the AAC Research Award of Excellence and 16 recipients of the AAC Lifetime Achievement Award.
The title of my acceptance speech was, “Forty-three years with seaweeds, 34 years at the University of New Brunswick, 27 years with the Aquaculture Association of Canada, 20 years of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aqua-culture (IMTA)… Let’s celebrate!”
Receiving this award at the very same place where, 20 years ago, during Aquaculture Canada 2003, I mentioned the expressi
the combination we could have in the Bay of Fundy at that time. However, because the IMTA concept is extremely flexible and can be applied worldwide to open-water and land-based systems, marine and freshwater environments, and temperate and tropical climates, and because there are many combinations of different marine resources possible by taking advantage of the local biodiversity to select appropriate species based on their complementary functions in the ecosystem, economic values and societal acceptability, there is no ultimate IMTA system to feed the world. It should be abundantly clear that IMTA is a concept, not a formula.
“Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture” and the acronym “IMTA” for the first time, had a very special meaning for me. Since then, more than 1,500 publications have been published about IMTA, attesting to the topicality of this sustainable aquaculture practice.
One of my proudest accomplishments during the nine years (2009-2017) of the existence of the Canadian IMTA Network (CIMTAN) is to have participated in the training of 143 highly qualified personnels, who are now the next generation of IMTA
I learned three important things during these pioneering years. First, the old adage “the second mouse gets the cheese” is so very true. Second, like in any organization, five percent of the people give you 95 percent of the headaches. Third, you will be able to count who your real friends are when you stop distributing
I took the opportunity to mention a number of other things we learned as IMTA evolved. For example, IMTA does not mean that fish have to be part of the system. We started with salmon, kelps and mussels because that was
The different components of an IMTA system do not have to be constrained to the limits of existing finfish sites. That is how we started with the regulations in place in the Bay of Fundy at that time, but it does not reflect the ecosystem scales at which aquaculture farms really function. We need to move to an Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) strategy, in which several horizontally integrated companies coordinate their activities within the ICA, instead of having one vertically integrated company trying to do everything.
Until now, seaweed (and the other extractive species) have been valued only for their biomass and food trading values. However, to calculate IMTA’s full value, they also need to be valued for the ecosystem services they provide, along with the increase in consumer trust and the societal/political license to operate that they give to the aquaculture industry within a circular economy approach. In a recently published book chapter, I identified 27 ecosystem services provided by seaweeds. Among them, I will cite the following:
• Seaweed are excellent nutrient scrubbers (especially dissolved nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon);
• Seaweed do not need to be irrigated with freshwater, but they need seawater, of good quality;
• Seaweed can be cultivated without fertilizers and agrochemicals, but they need nutrients in the water;
• Seaweed cultivation does not need more arable soil and land transformation (deforestation);
Thierry Chopin with Joanne Burry (left), conference manager, and Jennifer Wiper, president of the Aquaculture Association of Canada. PHOTO: KATHY CHOPIN
• Seaweed can be used for habitat prot ection, restoration and for increasing biodiversity. This is a rare situation where you can have more habitat and eat it too!
• Seaweed is the aquaculture component providing oxygen, while the other animal and microbial components consume oxygen;
• Seaweed store, or transiently “sequester” carbon while they grow and can contribute to the slowing down of global warming. However, when they are harvested and processed, carbon is also transformed and enters the fast carbon cycle, i.e. it is not permanently sequestered. No double dipping/accounting, please!
• By transiently “sequestering” carbon, seaweeds could also reduce coastal acidification.
• Seaweed (and other seafood) can participate in the decarbonization of this world by being part of the dietary shift towards food production systems with a lower carbon footprint than terrestrial ones, and the mitigation of nutritious food insecurity. There are presently no logical economic incentives to grow seaweed for sinking them
to the deep-sea ecosystems for carbon sequestration. Canada is one of few countries to have a carbon tax scheme in place. On April 1 , the tax increased to CA$65 (US$48.40) per ton of carbon. Using an average carbon composition in seaweeds of three percent fresh weight (FW), this can be converted to a carbon tax (or carbon credit) of US$0.0145 per kilogram dry weight (DW) of seaweed. This price for carbon sequestration is unattractive
compared to the price of seaweed in other markets, which can vary from a few U.S. dollars to more than US$1,000/kg DW, dependingontheapplications.
Thevalueoftheecosystemservicesprovided byseaweed,andotherextractivecomponents of IMTA systems, will have to be recognized, then monetized, then, used as financial and regulatory incentive tools. A key ecosystem service provided by seaweeds is nutrient biomitigation and a monetary value can be calculated for this service by the worldwide seaweedaquaculture(35.1milliontonsFWin 2020):betweenUS$2.6billionandUS$5.1billion, i.e. asmuchas30.9percentofitspresent commercialvalue(US$16.5billion).
Over the last decade, much emphasis has been placed on carbon. In coastal environments, issues associated with other nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are significant and should be addressed. Interestingly, there is more money to be made with NTCs than with carbon trading credits (CTCs): between US$2.5 and $4.9 billion for nitrogen and US$140.4 million for phosphorus, compared to only US$51.0 million for carbon. It is, therefore,
Thierry Chopin received the Aquaculture Association of Canada Research Award of Excellence in 2009, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.
PHOTO: THIERRY CHOPIN
important that we go beyond this quasi-obsession with carbon and look at the impacts of nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus, which are also playing key roles in climate change, ocean acidification and biodiversity
We also need to integrate the economic, societal and regulatory aspects of IMTA. The aquaculture industry always says “Show us that IMTA makes sense economically.” Well, I would like to remind you that between 2007 and 2019, we produced 11 publications
on the economic value and benefits of IMTA. All 11 publications are based on numbers provided by the industry, for which we are grateful, and representatives of the industry are co-authors on these papers. In all scenarios, IMTA is more profitable than salmon monoculture. So, why do we still hear this line of questioning? Be pro-active, accept that the economic demonstration has been done with your data, and, consequently, adopt IMTA more rapidly.
We have to take into consideration the intangible societal benefits of IMTA. For example, what is the value of David and Sarika Suzuki visiting an IMTA site and shooting a CBC television episode, which is regularly heard on CBC? Is that not part of increasing consumer trust and societal/political license to operate for the aquaculture industry as a whole?
We got our seaweeds organically certified, and the salmon grown at IMTA sites got differentiated as “WiseSource Salmon” by the largest food distributor in Canada, Loblaw/ Superstore. We worked on developing a premium market price. People smiled at us, indicating that if we got five percent we would be extremely lucky. We got 11 percent during two years, until CIMTAN ceased operating.
We need timely and enabling regulatory changes, instead of the current hampering regulatory hurdles. In Canada, and several other countries, aquaculture legislation was written for salmon farms in the 1980s, particularly to combat diseases in intensive monocultures. It is now clear that these regulations may inadvertently prevent innovation in aquaculture practices. We need to evolve towards a more holistic approach, considering species interactions, ecosystem-base management and an ICAM strategy.
Six years ago, when CIMTAN was fully active, Canada was ahead along the IMTA research, development and commercialization continuum. Since we are, unfortunately, no longer ahead, I remain involved with the progression of the concept and the training of bright minds, notably with the ASTRAL consortium in Europe, Africa and South America. I advise other projects in other parts of the world. Sadly, I cannot restrain myself from shouting very loudly, “Where are you Canada? Wake up Canada!”. We are back to “the second mouse gets the cheese” and it is very frustrating.
In recent years, we have heard a lot about blue growth/blue economy/blue revolution. However, we should recognize that it needs to become greener. It is more than time that we combine “green thumbs” and “blue thumbs”, to talk about turquoise growth, economy, and revolution. IMTA already contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 (“Life below water”), but also to 10 other SDGs. This is one of the solutions for designing the sustainable food production systems of the future and the production of numerous non-food applications.
At the end of my presentation, I could not resist leading the audience to join me in my well-known IMTA dance to the tune of YMCA by Village People, and I received many kind words for my interesting mix of messages and fun in my acceptance speech.
SCIENCE IS A STRATEGY
LYNN FANTOM
AQUAMESH
by Riverdale Mills
Afirst-in-the-U.S. pilot research project to develop sustainable practices for farming sablefish has now progressed to the point that a full-color sales sheet can boast to wholesalers about the “pearly white flesh, large velvety flakes, and sweet, rich flavor” of this native deep-sea fish, long a traditional food of the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest.
The sablefish comes from the experimental net pens at the Manchester Research Station on Puget Sound in Washington, the result of a research collaboration and partnership among NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, and the University of Washington.
While scientists have overcome many daunting challenges during the pilot project, social and political pushback against aquaculture cloud the future of exactly how and where commercial rollout will occur in the U.S. The precedent already exists in Canada at Golden Eagle Sablefish in British Columbia, which is producing sablefish in partnership with the Kyuquot-Checleseht First Nations.
Similarly, the Northwest Fisheries Science Center aims to develop and transfer knowledge and technology to the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe (or any interested party) to help initiate commercial-scale operations in the United States.
A decade of science
“The research team at NOAA over the last decade has really optimized many of the culture methods—everything from spawning fish to larval rearing to producing juveniles that grow quickly,” said Ken Cain, who joined NOAA Fisheries last October to oversee the Aquaculture and Marine Fish and Shellfish Biology Program.
The work hasn’t been easy. First, to spawn brood stock, researchers have had to mimic the natural conditions of deep water (over 300 m/1,000 ft) with its low temperatures (around 5°C/41°F) and darkness. They use only red lights “during these critical times,” Cain noted. Because adult female brood stock do not release all of their eggs at once, they must be checked every couple of days to remove eggs, each of which is about the size of a sharp pencil point. The tiny eggs then go into incubators where they take a few weeks to hatch. The embryos can derive nourishment from their yolk sacs for another month, but then
they need to be fed.
Unlike salmon, which can feed initially on dry commercial products, larval sablefish require live feeds. So, the NOAA scientists have to produce small marine plankton called rotifers. The larvae also prefer opacity in the water, which is created by the presence of algae. To reduce costs, researchers have substituted clay for algae –an important step in creating long-term economic viability. They are also working on reducing the cost of rotifer feed by replacing algae with yeast. Still another cost-saving step under study is to substitute commercially available liquid artemia feeds for live ones.
Work is also very hands-on. Once fish are started on feed, they must be graded by size because of cannibalism. “There’s always some fish that don’t want to feed on something that’s not moving around,” said Cain. “Once they get bigger than everyone else in the tank, it doesn’t take them long to reduce the population pretty quickly.”
Another goal at the Manchester Research Station is to have cultured female fish in captivity maturing and spawning consistently. That would eliminate the need to collect wild brood stock – both an expense and a challenge in cases of inclement weather. It would also allow selective breeding. “Ideally, we would select the fastest growing fish and breed those” to reduce the time to market, which is 18 to 24 months rather than what currently exists within the trout market as under a year, said Cain. Environmental cues, like salinity and temperature, may provide the answers for researchers.
A new project is also focused on a vaccine to prevent a non-typical furunculosis, a bacterial disease that can be a problem for sablefish, but not salmon, when waters warm. “It is the only disease issue that has been a major concern,” Cain noted.
In terms of research challenges, there are no deal-breakers. But, Cain said, “there’s clearly an opportunity to continue to reduce costs and to prove that it could be successful in systems other than net pens.”
The philosophy behind the work
Work is now beginning on a grant-funded project to compare growth rates in net pens with both land-based recirculating aquaculture (RAS) and flowthrough systems. The data will provide the opportunity to assess whether these alternatives are economically and
Sablefish, a deepwater species native to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, are a potential species for commercial farming.
PHOTO: NOAA FISHERIES
Researchers over the last decade have optimized culture methods — including spawning fish and larval rearing. PHOTO: NOAA FISHERIES
Experimental net pens at the Manchester Research Station on Puget Sound are used for grow-out in the pilot project.
PHOTO: NOAA FISHERIES/JAMES HACKETT
environmentally feasible, factoring in electricity and water usage. “There are always trade-offs,” said aquaculture veteran Jim Parsons. In 2021, he accepted the role of CEO at Jamestown Seafood after the tragic death of founder Kurt Grinnell, a member of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, who launched the company in partnership with the
Juvenile sablefish, shown here being tagged, have a “tremendous” growth rate and good feed conversion efficiency.
PHOTO: NOAA FISHERIES
tribe in 2016. It is expected that by year’s end all Grinnell family assets will be transferred to the tribe which will then wholly own Jamestown Seafood, Parsons said.
The former executive of Troutlodge and Cook Aquaculture notes that, along with the “tremendous growth rate” of juvenile sablefish,
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there’s good feed conversion efficiency—“even on diets that we have not perfected yet for that fish.” According to Cain, some research has already been done showing sablefish do well on low-fishmeal diets.
The work this year also includes testing the marketplace with the 10,000 to 12,000 fish harvested at Manchester Research Station. The strategy, said Parsons, is to fill in the gaps when sablefish are not available from the wild fisheries due to declining fishing quotas and harvest restrictions during spawning season. Jamestown does not want to compete against wild-caught sablefish. Food independence is more the issue. “It takes everybody in this country growing seafood or catching seafood to keep it from being imported,” he said.
Part of the marketing program is a sustainability statement that notes use of the Japanese fish slaughter technique ike jime which causes instantaneous death. Sushi chefs, along with other high-end restaurants, are key targets.
Science, hard work, and a little help from friends
The very first point in the sustainability statement is that the sablefish program is dedicated to farming a traditional fish eaten among the S’Klallam peoples and using it as a form of economic development for a rural area. “Channeling Kurt [Grinnell] and listening to the Jamestown S’Klallam tribal leadership, I think all of us would be good to remember what they believe: What is done today can impact seven generations from now,” said Parsons.
But, NOAA only has a 5-year permit to utilize net pens for research and assessment of the grow-out feasibility for sablefish at their research station.
Last November, as critics continued to argue that net-pen aquaculture can spread disease to native stocks and degrade the environment, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz issued a ban on all net pen farming in Washington state waters. In a complaint filed in December, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, as a “federally recognized sovereign nation,” asserted Franz’s action impinges on its tribal rights, maintaining it could “produce seafood in a sustainable and environmentally protective manner.”
To that end, collaborators from the University of Washington have been analyzing the effects of the net pen production on sediments beneath and surrounding the pens.
And an upcoming goal is to examine polyculture with sea cucumbers. These detrivores feed on decaying organic matter in coastal sediments, making them a potentially valuable partner in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). Interest has also been expressed in IMTA with seaweed.
“There’s got be some creativity that comes into play here to bring people around to see aquaculture is (a) not what it used to be and (b) not all that bad” said Parsons.
In May, Washington Superior Court ruled that the Northwest Aquaculture Alliance (NWAA) will be allowed to intervene on behalf of its members in the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s lawsuit. NWAA’s intervention request stated that Franz’s total commercial ban appeared “untethered to the specific science of other expert agencies.”
Reflecting on the project and its prospects, Parson added, “We’re making headway that science will eventually win out, right? The earth is not flat, it’s round.”
Sereia Films telling the industry’s stories
Florida-based nonprofit using film to educate BY MATT JONES
With misconceptions and misinformation about the aquaculture industry running wild in some areas, one non-profit film production company has made its mission to share the stories of the industry and to promote the good work being done. Sereia Films’ ongoing series, “Eating Out: The Hunt for Sustainable Seafood,” presents shortform documentaries on those who fish and farm in responsible and sustainable ways.
Founder and executive director Sarah Curry said that she had previously been working with a small production company in Miami that had primarily developed documentaries on fish farms, which would be screened around the world. When that company dissolved, she wanted to keep doing that same kind of work, but with a mind to making the content more accessible.
“I decided to start Sereia Films to create educational content, but making it more publicly available on these important issues that I thought more people should know about,” said Curry. “We honed in in the past few years specifically on seafood education, just because that’s my passion and area of expertise. And there is a huge hole to be filled as far as creating educational, inspirational content around these issues.”
Sereia Films’ subjects have thus far been based in the south of Florida – where the non-profit is based and a hotbed of fishing and fish farming activity. Curry noted that they are definitely interested in covering farms in other areas in the future, but specific plans and funding for that have not yet been put into place. However, most of their locally focused coverage would still be valuable and educational to audiences in other areas as they tie into larger issues that impact us all.
“The stories that we highlight at different farms and seafood producers and these issues – while they’re based in South Florida, they’re really kind of national and global issues of ‘where are we getting our food from now?’,” said Curry. “‘Where is it going to come from in the future?’ A lot of what we do is, I don’t want to say baseline education, but there’s still a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding around how our seafood is produced, the steps that it takes to get to our plate. And particularly with the blue foods movement and folks being more aware of how our food choices are impacting climate
(From left) Cinematographer Daniel Kaplan, Sereia Films Executive Director Sarah Curry, Treasure Coast Shellfish founder Nicolette Mariano and production assistant Nicky Del Pozo during the filming of an installment of “Eating Out: The Hunt for Sustainable Seafood.”
Sereia Films make documentaries that explore seafood production, including farms such as Treasure Coast Shellfish as seen here.
PHOTOS: SEREIA FILMS
change and the realization that seafood can be a really climate change-friendly food.”
Some of the farms that Sereia Films have highlighted are undertaking efforts to limit energy consumption, or effective waste management or feed innovations. Curry is particularly interested in feed innovations and finding new and better ways to feed fish. She’s also very happy any time that she can highlight the accomplishments of women, as they are underrepresented in the industry.
“Nicolette Mariano, the woman who founded Treasure Coast Shellfish – which is the next film that we’re working on – she’s in her 30s, she’s an aquatic biologist and she’s working really hard to produce some awesome oysters off the east coast of Florida,” said Curry.
Additionally, the films attempt to address misconceptions about different seafood products. She noted that there is a perception that good oysters are not produced in Florida, for example, and the oysters found on menus in Miami are typically imported from elsewhere. While there are distribution issues that play a part in that, there is a negative connotation associated with warm water oysters.
“So for this one with [Mariano], I interviewed someone from the state regulatory agency who deals with these farms to show
all the processes that are in place to maintain the safety and quality of the products,” said Curry. “Farms are required to harvest products by certain times, during certain months. There’s been huge improvements with refrigeration, traceability, and keeping products cold throughout the supply chain.”
“[Curry and Sereia Films] are amazing advocates,” said Mariano. “The different chefs that she meets, she’s gone out of her way to bring them samples and to educate them and getting the word out there. Especially since there’s only about three farms on the east coast of Florida right now doing oysters.”
Another species that can have a bad reputation is tilapia – chefs Curry has spoken with have turned their noses up at tilapia, but instead will import similar fish. A shame, she noted, when there are tilapia farms producing great fish within the state, mostly sold into the live market. A tilapia farm is planned to be the focus of a documentary later this year.
“Wouldn’t it be cool to have some Florida farmed tilapia on Florida menus?” said Curry. “Maybe it won’t be able to compete with imports, necessarily, but folks don’t even know that we’re growing this great seafood in our backyard. We took a look
around and said ‘what are we growing here in Florida?’ As it turns out, we’re growing a lot but it’s not necessarily making its way to Floridians.”
While the films are aimed in many ways at addressing misinformation and misconceptions about seafood production, they are not merely propaganda for the industry. Curry noted that when the films are screened, she is inevitably asked about different rumours, outdated stereotypes, or specific examples of bad actors in the aquaculture sector.
“There’s always going to be folks who are not doing it the right way, in every industry,” says Curry. “And even these better farms have room for improvement. I think there’s naysayers about the seafood industry in general these days. And while that can be valid in certain instances, from my perspective, learning about this industry for the past 10 years and going to conferences, it seems like almost all the players across the industry are working to improve their systems, the materials they use, or the transparency.”
Sereia Films’ documentaries can be viewed on their Youtube and Vimeo pages, and they are currently working with a local Public Broadcasting System station to get them aired there.
OYSTER GRADING TECHNOLOGY
The future of shrimp feeding in ponds
Eavesdropping on animals has unexpected benefits
BY MAGIDA TABBARA
Pacific white-leg shrimp is recently stealing the spotlight as top-most aquacultured species in the world with over 5.8 million tonnes produced in 2020. Driven by the increasing demand for shrimp, worldwide shrimp production is expected to increase by 5.3 percent between 2022 and 2030.
Several factors played a role in improving shrimp production over the years, from increasing the production areas to intensifying production with supplemented aeration, in addition to providing the animals with nutritionally adequate feed and having proper feed administration.
Shrimp is a very popular seafood commodity in the United States. Average shrimp consumption per capita reached five pounds in 2020, mainly due to the multiple health benefits that eating shrimp provides. The increased demand for shrimp is surely driving the production up. Nevertheless, multiple challenges impede further development.
Shrimp is fairly easy to raise. However, the production cost is quite expensive, mainly because of feeding activities and the labor associated with them. Thus, proper feed administration, with minimum wastage and labor intervention, is therefore key for realizing good profit.
Traditional
vs modern shrimp feeding techniques
Feed and feeding activities account for the majority of aquaculture production expenses. Traditionally, feed input in the ponds was estimated by looking back at historical data from the same farm or using feed trays to assess feed consumption. Feed trays were proven to be beneficial in reducing feed wastage. However, the labor involved in checking up on the feed trays tends to outbalance the production benefits, especially in countries like the U.S. where labor wages are expensive.
Recent studies suggest that increasing the number of feedings per day helps increase shrimp size and yield, and hence economic returns. It was proven that offering shrimp six feedings per day instead of the traditional two feedings significantly increases growth. The idea is that shrimp are slow bottom feeders with very short intestinal tracts. The more feedings are provided, the more the shrimp can benefit from the nutrients in the feed offered. As the feed pellets spend less time in the water, less nutrients leach out, and the nutritional value of the feed is conserved. Unfortunately, increasing the number of feedings per day does not mitigate overfeeding and labor cost.
Automatic feeders were put into practice to allow the shrimp to have several meals a day with less labor involved. Nevertheless, the problem of overfeeding persists: observing shrimp feeding in ponds is almost impossible and the animals are unfortunately not in the habit of notifying us when they’re hungry!
Unexpected benefits of eavesdropping
While it’s true that observing shrimp feeding in the pond is nigh impossible, “eavesdropping” on the animals can be easily done. Passive acoustic monitoring or PAM is a novel technology that allows for monitoring wildlife using acoustic sensors and recording of sound waves. The technique is non-invasive and relies mainly on dropping a hydrophone in the water and recording audible signals. Shrimp are sloppy eaters by nature and make noises while chewing their feed, which makes it easy to use PAM to monitor their feeding behavior.
Shrimp work on reducing the size of the feed pellet through external mastication using their mandibles on the feed particle prior to ingesting it. Mandibular occlusion during feed mastication results in the production of a “clicking” sound. With all of that occurring in saltwater, acoustic signals from the “clicks” rapidly and efficiently
find their way to the hydrophones in the water. The “clicks” are then converted to electrical signals, which can be processed instantaneously or even recorded for research purposes. Because the “clicks” are a result of mastication activity, they directly correlate with feed intake. Thus, hydrophones are linked to automated feeding systems in ponds to provide the shrimp with feed “on-demand”.
DO monitoring on your terms
“On-demand” feeding shows promising production results
“On-demand” acoustic feeding in pond settings is showing promising production results. Research published in 2021 by a team of researchers from Auburn University demonstrated that around 800 kg of shrimp were produced in a 0.1 hectare pond using on demand acoustic feeding. The authors compared shrimp yield from those ponds and from other ponds offered the same feed but using automatic feeders and realized an increase in shrimp yield by 200 kg per pond just by employing acoustic feeders! Shrimp produced in ponds employing acoustic feeders were valued at nearly US$40,000 per hectare, compared to US$27,000 to 32,000 per hectare for shrimp in ponds relying on traditional automatic feeders.
The acoustic feeders enable the shrimp to have access to feed 24 hours a day, which serves the biological need of the shrimp for multiple feedings a day. As to feed wastage concerns, data from the same study indicated that FCR was very close to one, which implies that all of the feed was efficiently used in growth. Feeders are filled once or twice a day, so no additional labor is needed.
Feeding automation has helped aquaculture flourish in the past two decades. “On-demand” acoustic feeders represent the future of shrimp production in ponds for their multiple economic benefits. Employment of this modern technology cuts back the duration of the production cycle by inducing fast growth and bigger yield of high value shrimp. Current use of acoustic feeders depends mainly on passive acoustic monitoring. There is definitely potential for employing artificial intelligence driven active acoustic feedings to further improve shrimp production in the near future.
Canadians for sure do love their salmon That, unfortunately, does not cut it when it comes to saving salmon farms from government decisions. With the latest one concerning
not renewing permits for 15 salmon farms in British Columbia, the market is now expecting a rise in the price of salmon, especially that 97 percent of Canadian salmon is farmed.
and supplies for all your Aquaculture
aeration
Between politics and stakeholder interests
The Canadian government’s decision is based on the observed decline in wild salmon populations and the necessity of protecting the wildlife. Anti-aquaculture campaigns are also supportive of the decision, blaming farmers for the drop in wild salmon population. However, science has shown that the main driver behind this decline is actually climate change, with overfishing and habitat destruction in tow.
The stakeholders’ economic interest is pushing salmon culture towards in-land. On paper and in the laboratory, using land-based flow-through or recirculating systems helps minimize escapees, and the interaction between wild and farmed salmon becomes virtually non-existent, which prevents disease transmission. It also becomes possible to increase stocking densities with less feed input and wastage in the enclosed system, which would result in higher economic returns. We’ve even seen hybrid systems before, with salmon fry raised on land in recirculating systems. However, once they are 1 kg smolts, they’re moved to open-ocean nets as they would otherwise require huge recirculating systems for containment. In reality, on-land salmon farming necessitates two key elements: huge areas of land for culture, and an adaptive geography that would allow supplying freshand salt water and meeting the animals’ needs.
The in-land systems would need to be located in areas close to the ocean so that fresh ocean water is always at hand, in addition to effective filtration systems for cleaning the pumped water and, most importantly, processing the systems’ effluents prior to their disposal into the environment. A lot of energy and non-renewable materials are needed for such an investment, and the consequences for the environment are actually worse than those of open-net farming. What is more, British Columbia has neither the land nor the renewable energy to put on-land salmon farming projects in effect.
Are there any realistic solutions?
There are two realistic and applicable/practical solutions that could solve the current crisis: applying new management practices in the already-established farms, and carefully consulting scientists and engineers before establishing new in-ocean farms.
New scientifically based management practices can help raise farmed salmon in open-nets with no risk to wild populations. It’s worth noting that farmed salmon is sort of
“domesticated” and does not pose a threat to the wild stock, or even do particularly well in the wild. And if the problem is that of disease transmission, particularly sea lice, then the solution is to culture cleaner fish in tandem with the salmon in the nets. Cleaner fish are mostly lumpfish and ballan wrasses and can be cultured together to fight sea lice infestations. Introducing cleaner fish at a certain ratio to the sea lice is a proven method to help almost completely eradicate the parasite and minimize outbreaks. Another good management practice is preventing diseases by vaccinating the cultured fish. This not only protects the cultured population but reduces the use of antibiotics as well, besides helping decrease disease transmission. Moreover, sustainability can be taken into account at every step of the culture process. That includes, but is not limited to, using sustainable feed ingredients that use little to no fishmeal, and applying new feeding techniques that minimize feed wastage such as the currently in-use cameras to observe the fish feeding, and the novel hydroacoustic monitoring technique.
New scientifically based management practices can help raise farmed salmon in open nets with no risk to wild populations. It’s worth noting that farmed salmon is sort of “domesticated” and does not pose a threat to the wild stock.
With respect to licensing new salmon farms, adequate locations should be chosen and studied carefully. Before positioning the nets, scientists and stakeholders should work on modelling the location and making sure that the position is a sound one from all aspects. This means positioning the nets away from wild salmon populations and the streams they swim through, and away from
other endangered species. Additionally, the maximum biomass that the net can withhold should be determined in advance, so as not to surpass the environment’s carrying capacity. The use of steel or high-density polyethylene nets, specifically designed for long term durability in the face of strong ocean movements, ought to be enforced. Using these nets in the past years has reduced the number of escapees to almost zero. Moreover, we must ensure that the salmon transferred from the hatcheries to the nets are disease-free and vaccinated so as to potentially reduce all possible disease transmission from our fish to the wild populations. And, last but not least, one must make sure that the facility is equipped with modern wastewater and effluent-treating systems that sterilize the flow against any pathogens, in addition to removing chemicals and particulate matter.
Demand for salmon will continue to increase in the coming years and is expected to increase by two million tonnes come 2027. It is vital to implement new effective and reasonable solutions to the open-net salmon farms in British Columbia if we are to avert future economic losses and shortage of supply.
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Innovative Microfluidics Tech Revolutionizes Pathogen Detection, Genetic Research
There is a new, powerful tool in aquaculture that can efficiently identify pathogens and genetic markers in fish and shellfish.
Microfluidics-based technology from Standard BioTools™ (formerly Fluidigm®) is capable of examining multiple samples simultaneously, which can help professionals better understand disease resistance and improve breeding programs.
“To use a fishing analogy, it’s not like casting the whole, wide net out and trying to see what kind of data they get back,” said Phil Kilgas, Senior Manager of Product Management at Standard BioTools™. “This is targeted. I’m looking for this specific genotype, let’s see if this population has it.”
How it works
Microfluidics is the foundation for the integrated fluidic circuit (IFC), which contains a network of microscopic channels that allow researchers to test fish samples for targeted pathogens or specific genetic markers. What makes it unique is its ability to analyze samples, each with multiple pathogens, concurrently on the same chip.
As an example, 96 samples can undergo interrogation with 96 pathogens or targets, in individual reactions. This ensures a thorough analysis of any potential threats within the fish or shellfish specimens without the challenges of multiplexing or contamination.
There are two main uses for this technology, according to Naveen Ramalingam, Senior Director of Assay Development and Genomics R&D at Standard BioTools™. The first is parentage.
Microfluidics precisely identifies genetic markers, which allows breeders to accurately trace lineage, enabling more effective breeding tactics and managing diversity.
“Second, most fish farmers, or even shrimp farmers, have the need for pathogen identification tools. We offer a panel of pathogens that can be tested using one sample.”
This results in faster identification of the pathogen causing infection, and it eliminates the need to do multiple tests. “In one test, you can detect the pathogen responsible for the infection,” said Ramalingam.
It’s more cost-effective because the amounts of DNA and reagents that are required for this test are lower than for traditional tests. IFCs significantly reduce reaction volumes by using nanoscale amounts for each reaction, meaning they use less sample and reagents per test.
“In the past, you would test for a particular pathogen. If your first test is negative, then you must run another test to see what else is there,” he said. “But with microfluidics, you can detect multiple pathogens in one test and get the answer right away.”
It’s also scalable. Sample and target options allow from 144 to 9,216 individual reactions per run without the need to change platforms.
Sustainable solution
Time and money aren’t the only advantages with microfluidics — the technology enables a greener and more sustainable product.
“The amount of plastics that these labs could save is 200-fold,” said Kilgas.
Cast study: Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Kilgas points to an example from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. It used 54 IFCs to do a batch of testing that would have required 1,300 plastic plates using older technology.
The agency is using microfluidics in the field for their work on sustainable ocean fishing off the coast of Alaska.
In one study, they’re taking samples of salmon to determine what percentage of a specific species is in the water.
“Using molecular markers, if they find a low percentage of a rare stock, they can recommend that fisherman not fish in that particular location, reducing the risk of overharvesting the limited stock,” said Ramalingam.
The agency’s use of the system is not typical for aquaculture, but shows how powerful it can be in identifying species quickly and efficiently. The field team even mounted a microfluidics system on a boat for operation in the field, while in most cases the system would be used in a stable lab environment, said Kilgas.
Use in breeding
Kilgas called out the beef industry as an example of how using genetics can identify desirable traits in animals.
“It’s like wagyu beef. If you find cows that have quality meat, you want more of that offspring,” he said. “The same can be true for the breeding of different fish or shellfish. There are so many uses for molecular testing in aquaculture.”
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT https://www.standardbio.com/products/ technologies/microfluidics or contact phillip.kilgas@standardbio.com.
Steve Atkinson: ‘We’re not ready to transition’
Q&A with one of B.C.’s salmon farming veterans and RAS pioneer
BY MARI-LEN DE GUZMAN
British Columbia’s aquaculture sector is at the cusp of a game-changing future that can change the face of salmon farming in the province. Veteran fish farmer Steve Atkinson, founder of Taste of BC Aquafarms, a land-based producer of steelhead trout, was recently interviewed in Aquaculture North America’s podcast series, Salmon Farming: Inside and Out, where he gave a no-holds-barred commentary on the current and future landscape of salmon aquaculture in B.C.
Following are excerpts from the interview (edited for brevity and clarity).
Q: What was it like launching a land-based farm in the early days?
A: To create an environment where fish can grow and thrive, I liken it a lot to building a space station. When they build a space station, they have to create every aspect to support life, everything. And we’re doing that for the fish. What makes it even more complicated is that fish are biological animals. But our system, our aquaculture system, is also a biological, living animal. So you have to create an environment where everything works together to create a life support system where fish will grow and thrive. I’ve got to say when I started this about 12 years ago, I thought it was a lot easier. And we didn’t have any concept of how much we did not know. In fact, for the first 6, 7, 8 years, every time we’d learned something, we learned about four or five things we didn’t know and we had to resolve them. So what a lot of people think is a done deal – an easy, ‘let’s just switch and move fish from the ocean on the land,’ – is much more complicated than anybody out there really has a comprehension, including a lot of the people doing it. And you can see that by the troubles that they’ve had, how much longer it’s taken to get going.
Q: As complex as the technical aspects of a RAS farm is the business side of things. What was the value proposition from an economic perspective?
A: I traveled a lot. I had a smoked salmon business for quite a number of years that we operated in the ferry terminals, and I exported a number of things. And that business took me to China. And when we
visited China, we realized that with the growing economic state of countries like China and India in particular, that food is going to be a major issue. And aquaculture in China has been the mainstay of feeding China for 1,000 years, they eat more aquaculture produced products than the rest of the world. And most of their fish is grown. People (in China) were eating more, their protein consumption was going up by leaps and bounds. At that time, salmon was basically unknown in China. Farmed salmon, especially, was unknown. And through that… I realized that in British Columbia, we have one of the greatest opportunities to meet that need of protein in the world. And at that time, the Government of Canada was looking at building some model farms and that kind of thing for land-based production. And I thought, at that time, that in British Columbia, we had the potential opportunity for a land-based industry that would complement our net-pen-based industry and could be equal in scope. So I was approached by some guys in the DFO about the potential of building a model farm… that was back in 2008. And it took me about four years to be able to get DFO to put any money into it…
they helped fund it and that gave (way to) the beginning of our road. We thought that we would have a successful business within a couple of years. We thought that it was going to be a lot less of a science journey than it was. We started in 2012, we built the farm, and in 2013 we stocked it. And it took us until 2021 before we approached anywhere near making money, and we were marginally successful, profitable.
When we first started, we were looking to build a model for a family farm size of agriculture operation. And then through the journey, we learned that really, there is no possibility of making that a profitable venture; there needs to be a certain amount of scale. But again, this whole issue of scale has been tossed around. And I think I have a very different perspective of what is the right scale. We’re now at the point (where) we’ve got a proof of concept, and we’ve got a way of taking that proof of concept. And without having to relearn everything by scaling up, we’ve got a plan of how we’re going to move that scale up, and maintain operational integrity with what we’ve got here now. And we see a 1,500-ton farm as a reasonable scale, maybe you could have a number of them in one site. But 1,500 tonnes seems to be our sight. We have 100 tons here in the model farm.
Q: It took nearly 10 years before you became moderately profitable, what were the growing pains over that decade?
A: There were a lot of them. You know, the first year we thought we had it made, we started operating and our fish performed just perfectly the first year, we had fish out, they were wonderful, and all of a sudden our fish stopped growing, couldn’t get them to grow. And that was a common issue, called the stall-out system that RAS faced in those days. And it took us a long while to get that resolved and we could get them to grow. And then we faced issues with early maturation, where 50 per cent of the fish would mature early. And we had to resolve those issues. There’s just been a myriad of care issues, of making the fish happy so they grow. It took us years, we had the farm in September 2020, and over a long weekend we lost 80 per cent of our biomass. These big mass mortality issues have been the death knell for most RAS facilities. We had an issue where we thought it was an ozone problem. In the end, it wound
Steve Atkinson
up to be a common bacterial gill disease that we misdiagnosed and didn’t respond quickly enough. And with the action we took about the ozone, just to accelerate the problem, we lost 80 per cent of our biomass. So we actually thought we were finished at that time. But thankfully, we hadn’t buried ourselves in debt. I had always maintained from the beginning to only do what we can afford, and not be at risk on debt all along.
One of our lenders actually came to us and said, ‘Listen, we’re in for this for a penny, we’re in for a pound. We think you got it figured out. We’re behind you. And we’re going to help you get through this,’ which was absolutely a miracle, amazing thing. But we had enough of our biomass that gave us a kickstart. And that next year was our profitable year. It took us 12 months to get there, and we were profitable, and we’ve had it figured out. And that attracted investment from Blue Star (Foods). They were looking around the world for successful RAS and there weren’t any except us, so they came on board. That hasn’t been a panacea. The stock markets have been difficult the last few years and being a public company brings additional costs and additional issues, but they still plan to do their expansion. I’ve decided to step aside. I’m getting too old for this. I was a young man when I started this and I’ve aged double. But we produced some of the nicest fish I’ve ever seen. Nobody else has been able to do it.
Q: What went into that decision of what species to farm?
A: There’s a couple of things why I chose steelhead as a species for RAS, and one of them was that it was the most cultured fish in the world. And I thought it was going to be easy, that everything was known about growing rainbow trout or steelhead, as we call them, properly salmon. Number one, I didn’t see an opportunity to compete with Atlantic salmon grown in net (pens). You’ve got big multinational companies that dominate and they learned the process of growing these fish – and they do it well, and they do it large. I didn’t see an opportunity to compete. But then when you look at the seafood market, there’s always a need for another species in the fresh fish case. And around the world wild salmon takes about 25 per cent of the market, and then farmed salmon is 50 per cent and then steelhead – in Europe they call it salmon trout, and some places it’s rainbow trout, some places it’s steelhead – overall has another 25 per cent market share. So the steelhead was a great fit as a competitive issue. I thought it was a great fit because it was a fish that is grown in both salt and freshwater with ease in traditional processes. And I thought it
was going to be an easier fish to learn. I still think that even though it’s taken us 10 years. But there have been people trying to grow Atlantic salmon in RAS the same amount of time, and nobody’s been successful. Nobody’s got it figured out. And we’ve got this figured out. So maybe it’s easier. And I think it’s a better species. I think there are some biological aspects about Atlantic salmon that make it very difficult for growing in RAS.
The other thing is (there’s) a target market size of somewhere in the two- to three-kilo range for steelhead, which we figured we could make that a 12-month cycle in RAS, which is financially a better thing, where Atlantic salmon is closer to a four kilo, and you’re talking about a two year cycle in RAS. Now we’ve been able to grow two-kilo fish easily over the last couple of years now. And Atlantic salmon, they’re nowhere near their four kilo target.
Q: What are your thoughts on the current dynamic in the BC salmon farming sector, and the government’s plans to phase out net-pen farms across the province?
A: I have regular discussions with the (DFO) minister and the minister’s office, and I have been very clear to them that there is not an opportunity at present to convert 100,000 tons of salmon production to land-based. I’m friendly with both sides of the story… and I’ve been on the committee for the (government’s) transition plan… and consistently, they’ve heard that we’re not ready to transition. The technology is not ready. But bigger than that, we aren’t ready as a province to transition. We’ve had a lot of trouble just finding a site for our 1,500-ton facility that has the required power. Now, there are maybe three sites on Vancouver Island right now that have power available to to power, a 1,500-ton site, let alone you know, some people have been pitching a 50,000-ton site or 5,000-ton site. We need two megawatts of electricity to power a 1,500-ton farm, that’s an equivalent of about 2,500 homes. And there simply is no power infrastructure on Vancouver Island to support that, especially with this target to move to electric vehicles.
And one of the dangers that I see in transitioning too quickly, if they want to transition, is we have a huge infrastructure network based on the ocean net-pen salmon farms – distribution channels, feed mills, technical support, engineering, all of those things – that if they move without an industry developed on land, then they’re going to cut the legs off from beneath us.
And then there’s the other issue politically
with the First Nations. You’ve got First Nations set against First Nations now. And you’ve got the First Nations who are involved in salmon farming, saying, ‘We’re going to issue our own licenses.’ And you’ve got.. others saying, ‘No, you can’t do it.’ And I think they’re opening a can of worms, that is going to be completely outside of government control.
I would rather see (government) get behind the land-based sector. It can thrive while the net cages are there, if that’s really what’s intended, and get a sector happening, and then that’s going to take significant investment because of power and different things. But it’s not going to happen in six months.
So much of the argument against oceanbased salmon farming is based on long past practices. You look at this industry (now) and there is no greater sustainable, efficient production of protein than salmon farming – land or ocean. I’m now retired. So I’m old enough that I’m on this side of the thing. And I’ve watched the salmon farm industry develop. If it was a scientific argument, there would be no argument. I’m a land-based farmer. I’m a proponent of land-based (farming), but I’m not an anti net-cage salmon farm guy. So (with) politics and science, you (will) have to play with science to tell a negative story with salmon farming
Q: As part of the transition planning consultations, what feedback are you getting from them, as initial public messaging has been to phase out the net-pen farms and move everything to land?
A: The key term that you hear now from the government, from the minister, is ‘precautionary principle.’ And that precautionary principle is a synonym for, ‘science doesn’t matter.’ And our present minister, I think she believes in what she’s doing. But I’ve got to think there’s an awful lot of money behind the environmental movement that is swaying decisions at the Office of the Prime Minister, and that’s where the decision is being made. It is not being made, I believe, at the Minister of Fisheries level. It’s a decision of the PMO, and it’s a political decision. A few years ago, I thought there was no way the trend, the phasing out of net cage salmon farms in British Columbia, would ever be a serious topic. (Now) I think it’s a done deal. You know, we’re only about a month or so away from them publishing their plan. And I think the government is going to phase out the licences quickly. And it’s going to be in the hands of First Nations. And I don’t know what that’s going to look like.
SHOWCASE
SmartEye Precision HD
AKVA group has launched a SmartEye Precision HD is an advanced double feeding and inspection camera in HD. The highly light-sensitive camera delivers crisp underwater video images even when filming down into deep and dark pens using autofocus, zoom, adaptive noise reduction, auto-adjusted color balance, and a high-quality lens.
The camera is an integral part of the new control system AKVA connect 4.0 and can be controlled via a web browser through a wireless video transmission. User experience and simplification of the fish farmer´s tasks is key. The pan/tilt functionality provides 360-degree motion for a full overview and the camera comes with built-in depth and temperature sensors. Combined with one of our winch systems, the SmartEye Precision HD provides excellent insight into the feeding response and the condition of the fish.
Seattle Fish Co. shares sustainability wins in 2022 Impact Report
Seattle Fish Co. measures their overall impact based on pounds of carbon dioxide (emitted both within their own operation and in their supply chain) in their public 2022 Impact Report.
“Our annual Impact Report is a way to reflect on progress made, track goals achieved, identify how we can make the biggest difference in our carbon footprint in the year to come and ultimately inspire others to do the same,” shares CEO and former National Fisheries Institute Chair Derek Figueroa. “We’re devoted to sustainable, big-picture best practices – from responsible sourcing to 24/7 handling, to reducing waste and energy use at every opportunity, and striving to educate and inform our employees, our customers and the public on why we do what we do.”
Key features
• A high-quality lens and HD provides excellent video images even in deep and dark pens
• Integration with AKVA connect 4.0 provides a full overview on monitor
• 360 degrees motion with zoom and autofocus
• Gyro stabilizer
• Easy to use via web browser
• No external moving partsprevents leaks and reduces the need for service
• Integrated depth and temperature sensor
• Reusable camera housing
• Auto-adjusted color balance
• Adaptive noise reduction
• Day/night function
• Robust and waterproof connection cable www.akvagroup.com
Between 2015 and 2022 Seattle Fish Co. has:
• Reduced electricity usage per pound of production by 39 percent
• Reduced water usage per pound of production by 30 percent
• Reduce trash to landfill per pound produced by 73 percent They estimate their total carbon intensity at 4.1lbs of CO2 per lb of product they sell.
“This report made our biggest opportunities for progress clear,” shares Chief Sustainability and development Officer Hamish Walker. “While efficiency or our internal operations will always be a focus, by far the largest parts of our carbon footprint are from the catching or farming of fish, and the freight to get it to us. By improving efficiency and reducing emissions in these areas, and providing information to our customers to help them make lower carbon choices, I feel confident we can make a real difference in the years to come.” www.seattlefish.com
and Ian Roberts, Director of Communications at MOWI Canada, Scotland, Ireland
with Mari-Len De Guzman, Aquaculture Writer and Editor
Presented by
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The Cordonel meter can accommodate virtually all commercial, industrial and agricultural needs, including horizontal or vertical pipe orientations with no straight upstream or downstream pipe (also known as U0D0) required for ease of installation. Without any moving parts, this robust solid-state device provides a reliable maintenance-free solution over its 20-year life.
The Cordonel C&I meter enables a portfolio of applications, including:
• Advanced Metering Infrastructure and Automated Meter Reading data
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• Rich data for District Metered Area (DMA) applications
• Pressure and temperature monitoring www.xylem.com
