March, April 2017

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Drakes Bay shutdown offers lessons for California shellfish farmers

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Closure of oyster farm in coastal park put oyster farmers on edge

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

BY AARON ORLOWSKI

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

he eviction of Drakes Bay Oyster Co’s California shellfish farm from Point Reyes National Seashore in December 2014 left oyster farmers up and down the Pacific Coast nervous about their own fates.

But the rancorous battle that preceded the shutdown has yielded several valuable lessons for shellfish farmers in California and aquaculturists across the country, Drakes Bay owner Kevin Lunny tells Aquaculture North America (ANA)

Since closing down the farm, the National Park Service has wasted no time in dismantling eight decades worth of oyster farming equipment, beginning in January 2015 by removing nine commercial buildings and nearly 6,000 square feet of asphalt and concrete. All told, the Park Service will remove five

Project provides local source of steelhead trout in New Hampshire

Mussels and seaweed thriving under the nets offer added value

continued on page 14

Workers approach racks of oysters. Hog Island Oyster Co was launched in 1983 in Tomales Bay

Decoding the mystery of sea lice persistence

Biologist believes that knowledge about sea lice at larval stage may hold key to stopping re-infestation in salmon farms

ea lice have long been a research focus at Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) St Andrews Biological Station (SABS). Recently, studies have focused on the ecology of their early life history stages, non-chemical methods to reduce their incidence, and genetic selection of sea-lice-resistant Atlantic salmon. These elements have been, or are being studied, in an attempt to combat sea lice outbreaks in near-shore ocean caged fish.

Current treatment methods used by industry are mostly aimed at combating the adult stage of sea lice once they have infested the salmon. This is done by killing, removing and/or collecting the attached parasites. However, by the time the salmon are treated, the female sea lice carrying the egg strings (known as gravids) have already had ample opportunity to produce eggs. These viable eggs can hatch and the subsequent larvae may become the next generation to possibly re-infest the salmon farms.

BY LIZA MAYER

An aquaculture project in New Hampshire that raises steelhead trout in net pens at the mouth of the Piscataqua River in New Hampshire is enabling the local community to enjoy fresh, locally grown fish.

A joint project between the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and New Hampshire Sea Grant, the project raises 350 to 400 fish in two nets on a floating platform 500 yards off the shores of New Castle, New Hampshire.

Michael Chambers holds up long length of sugar kelp seaweed grown in the IMTA raft. The kelp is sold locally to restaurants and breweries to make beer

Project head Dr Michael Chambers said the steelhead trout has been the most successful species raised by the university. The species is hardier and grows faster — from 150 grams to around 2 kg in seven months — than cod, haddock, and halibut, he told WSCH News.

Recent increased consumer interest in eating locally sourced food bodes well for the project. Orders from local markets range from 30-50 fish per week come harvest time beginning November, to the time the cages are empty in January, Chambers told Aquaculture North America (ANA). “The UNH steelhead trout is seasonal so customers look forward to them when they are available. Customers like the fact that they are grown locally

on page 8

Emily Nelson sampling for sea lice larvae

Credit:

Rebecca Zeiber/N.H. Sea Grant

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Panel charts new course for aquaculture in Canada

Industry identified among those with untapped potential and significant global growth prospects

anada could aim to boost its aquaculture exports to $2.6 billion and its global market share from 0.2 percent to 0.6 percent by 2027 to help it achieve a strong and sustained long-term economic growth, says an economic advisory council.

In 2015, Canada’s volume of exports for all aquaculture products was over 100,000 tonnes, which by volume was just under $770 million, according to the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA), citing official trade data.

The Advisory Council on Economic Growth, created by Finance Minister Bill Morneau in March 2016, said the industry could achieve this target “by adopting a new, forward-looking Canadian Aquaculture Act” as well as adopting an economicdevelopment strategy that reforms “illadapted traditional fisheries regulations.” Examples of regulations that need streamlining are those that stifle or deter investments in assets such as aquaculture systems, and complex permitting processes, said the council. It added that doing so will create opportunities for provincial, regional, and aboriginal stakeholders.

British Columbians processing farmed salmon. An advisory panel says Canada could aim to boost its aquaculture exports to $2.6 billion by 2027 from roughly $770 million in 2015

The recommendations are part of the council’s second wave of proposals that it presented to the Canadian government in February. Aside from recommendations that would galvanize agriculture — under which aquaculture is a sub-category — the council also offered recommendations on other growth sectors, such as manufacturing, energy, and health care and life sciences.

Commenting on the proposals, CAIA Executive Director Ruth Salmon said: “Today the Finance Minister’s Economic Council laid out a responsible and sustainable goal for aquaculture in Canada, and we are committed to working with all stakeholders to seize this unique opportunity. Working together we can continue to produce fresh, healthy, and sustainable farmed seafood, and create new jobs and opportunity across Canada.”

China reduces import tariffs on seafood

Overfishing and increased consumption have reportedly depleted local resources of some of China’s favorite seafood species, thus beginning January 1, China has claimed to have cut tariffs on a number of imported marine products to ensure “supplies remain plentiful” and prices are in check.

Among the seafood that have seen a reduction in import tariffs include:

• Tuna down from 12 to six percent

• Ribbonfish/hairtail down from 10 to five percent

• Arctic shrimp down from five to two percent

• Cod down from 10 to five percent

• “Flat fish” (which includes flounder and sole) down from 12 to 2 percent

• Lobster down from 15 to 10 percent

• Geoduck down from 15 to 10 percent

• Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) down from 5 to 2 percent

The tariff reduction is expected to boost Canada’s trade with China, which is its second largest export market for seafood following the United States. Since 2013, exports to China have increased by 46 percent from $338.5 million (C$443 million) in to $493.6 million (C$646 million) in 2015, according to the

The tariff reduction is expected to boost Canada’s trade with China

Credit: Craftsy.com

Canada Seafood Market report by Islandbanki Research. In the first 10 months of 2016, Canada’s seafood export to that country reached $484.5 million (C$634 million), of which $166.5 million (C$218 million), or roughly 35 percent, was from Nova Scotia.

Blue Ridge Aquaculture is investing $3.2 million to expand its operations in Henry County, Virginia, which its president and CEO Bill Martin considers a significant step in the company’s growth plans.

Blue Ridge, said to be the world’s largest producer of indoor-raised tilapia, produces 4 million pounds of the fish a year using recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and ships between 10,000 and 20,000 pounds of live tilapia each day.

Martin said the expansion will create five new jobs and help maintain the company’s leadership position in the industry.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe approved a $50,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund to assist with the project, which Henry County is matching with local funds, according to a statement from the Governor’s Office.

Blue Ridge was also awarded a grant from the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. In addition, the company is receiving a Real Property Investment Grant through the Virginia

Blue Ridge Aquaculture to expand indoor tilapia farming operation

Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

“I applaud Blue Ridge Aquaculture’s continued investment in Henry County and their expansion speaks to the highquality seafood and marketplace success of the company,” said McAuliffe.

Virginia is the nation’s third largest seafood producer and the largest on America’s Atlantic coast. The state is ranked 10th nationally in aquaculture production.

Credit: Blue Ridge Aquaculture

Blue Ridge is said to be the world’s largest producer of indoor-raised tilapia. The expansion represents a significant step in the company’s growth plans, says President and CEO Bill Martin

Experts in Live Haul fish

initiative Program aims to improve global food systems

Cermaq

joins

wenty-five global companies, including Cermaq, have committed to an initiative to speed up change in global food systems so everyone can access healthy, enjoyable diets that are produced responsibly.

TThe group launched the program, called FReSH, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland in January. It will catalyze change across the food systems, taking into account local eating patterns.

The program underscores the role the private sector plays in making healthy and sustainable diets accessible. Companies are invited to join the program.

“We are excited about the FReSH program which brings aquaculture into the WBCSD programs. Aquaculture will definitely play an important role to reach the objective of ensuring healthy diets for all based on food that is produced responsibly within planetary boundaries,” says Wenche Grønbrekk, Head of Sustainability and Risk, Cermaq.

Aquaculture will definitely play an important role to reach the objective of ensuring healthy diets for all, says Wenche Grønbrekk, Head of Sustainability and Risk, Cermaq

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Credit: Cermaq

NOAA lays groundwork for offshore fish farming in the Pacific

The decision to expand fish farming into federal waters around Hawaii and other Pacific islands could help the US meet its seafood demand but there are hurdles in the path of potential investors

BY MATT JONES

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is beginning the early stages of work towards opening up federal waters in the Pacific Ocean to aquaculture operations but some are concerned that developing regulations before an industry is established may prevent growth.

The Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and Management Act of 1976 defines a relationship between fisheries councils and service districts: councils develop and amend fisheries management plans while the fisheries service issues regulations and implement those plans. Since 2008, the Western Pacific Fishery Council has sought to engage in aquaculture in federal waters in strategically, says David O’Brien, deputy director of NOAA’s Fisheries and Aquaculture program.

“The council looked at this and said, ‘this is a great opportunity, a way to create seafood locally, let’s pursue this,’” says O’Brien. “The way they did this is to work with the fisheries services and they developed a programmatic assessment of the area to help inform any future decisions about what areas are suitable for aquaculture, what areas are not suitable, what species are likely to grow, what methods could be allowed – a whole range of things.”

O’Brien says that the council decided the best way to proceed was through a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

“It’s a wide-ranging law that applies to all federal agencies which look at potential environmental and economic impacts of federal action,” says O’Brien. “It can also be used as a planning tool, which is what the council wants to do.”

This past August, the fisheries service issued a notice of intent to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement under NEPA. This was followed by a

The current process is putting “the cart before the horse” and regulating an industry to the point where it may never develop.

~ John Ericsson, Gulf Marine Institute of Technology CEO

60-day public comment period, which closed at the end of October. That information will be used as the basis for a draft of an environmental impact statement, which is scheduled to be published in the spring, followed by another public comment period and a final statement in the fall.

COMPARISONS WITH GULF OF MEXICO’S OPENING

The effort has drawn some comparison to the process undertaken to open up waters in the Gulf of Mexico for aquaculture operations. The process of using the councils and the Magnuson-Stevens Act are analogous, however O’Brien notes some key differences between both efforts.

“The Gulf went first and the Pacific council is going second,” said O’Brien. “No one had ever done this before; it was a brand new operation. To their credit, both the council and the folks in the fisheries service down in the south east were pioneers. The Western-Pacific and other regions that may want to follow have the enormous benefit of having a road map to follow. One thing they’ve done in the Gulf that was pretty god was the co-ordination among federal agencies in the Gulf, but, in retrospect, it could have been a bit tighter. In the Western-Pacific, they were earlier [than the Gulf] in bringing in partners from the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA and the Coast Guard into the process and getting them involved in the earlier planning stages. It will make it easier down the road.”

BIG HURDLES

However, there are still concerns about the process, with some seeing hurdles on the path of potential investors. For one, there is the question of permit versus lease.

John Corbin, president of the Aquaculture Planning & Advocacy LLC. He says the acceptance of open-ocean aquaculture may also require next-generation technology to move it forward

“A permit is not the same as a lease,” says Corbin. “If you look at all the coastal states that have aquaculture, I believe virtually all of them use a lease as the vehicle to give people access to the public resource. Does a permit really offer adequate, exclusive-use controls and does it offer adequate property rights and property protections to justify an investor investing, say, $10 million or $15 million to create a commercial-scale project in the Pacific Ocean? I think that’s a question that has not been answered.”

O’Brien of NOAA says that the issue of “lease versus permit” has indeed been raised in past discussions on this topic. While a lease may offer more certainty when

continued on page 6

File photo shows offshore fish farms in Baja, California, similar to ones expected to be permitted around Hawaii and other Pacific islands

Credit:

Gerick

Meal

NOAA

lays groundwork continued from page 5

attempting to secure financing from a bank or an investor, logistically it may not be applicable.

“The reality is that even if we wanted to, with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, we don’t have the authority to issue leases,” says O’Brien. “We have the authority to issue permits. From a legal standpoint, we wouldn’t have that option using Magnuson-Stevens.”

John Ericsson, Gulf Marine Institute of Technology CEO and managing director, participated in drafting the rules for offshore farming in the Gulf of Mexico. He believes that the current process is putting “the cart before the horse” and regulating an industry to the point where it may never develop.

“Usually regulations are the result of an industry starting, going through the infancy stages and then things get big enough in scale, issues come up and need to be attended to; it is trial, error and experience,” says Ericsson. “But in this case it’s just the opposite. They took 12 years to develop the rules for an infant sea farming industry before there was anything to regulate.”

Ericsson points to the example of aquaculture industries in Greece and the Mediterranean, where the industry grew over 30 years, beginning with mom-andpop operators and caged systems, and evolved into a multi-million dollar industry owned by public companies with hundreds of net-pen systems. Looking at the startup costs and the time and effort necessary to get a permit, he wonders if there is an inducement for smaller operators.

“There’s no protection once you get a federal permit to do sea farming in the Gulf of Mexico,” says Ericsson. “Somebody can go and get some judge to impose a cease-and-desist order while you’ve got millions of dollars invested and years in an offshore sea farming operation. There’s no protection for the business other than through the courts because there are no provisions to protect the operators from possible interference. The way the regulations are, there’s no real stopgap to protect the operator from what the federal regulators can do to shut your farm down and put you in bankruptcy.”

The process for revocation, suspension or modification of a permit is based on compliance with permit conditions, which falls under the same process used for commercial fishing licences, O’Brien notes. One of the overall objectives for NOAA in this process is to work on permitting efficiency in both state and federal waters. He also acknowledges that while regulations can be a burden to overcome, so can the lack of regulations.

“If you look at federal waters specifically, there has been an absence of clarity on regulating aquaculture in federal

David O’Brien, deputy director of NOAA’s Fisheries Aquaculture program, says the next opportunity for public comment on the plan to open up federal waters in the Pacific Ocean to aquaculture is scheduled this spring

waters until last year when we published rules for the Gulf of Mexico fisheries management plan for aquaculture,” O’Brien says. “The absence of that regulatory certainty in places like the Gulf of Mexico has been an obstacle for development. Very few people applied for a permit for aquaculture in federal waters because of the lack of regulatory certainty. People tend to think of regulation as restrictive, but I think in this case the lack of regulatory structure has been restrictive. We’re trying to fix that, by using Magnuson-Stevens in this case, to develop that regulatory process so people will know what the rules are with a degree of certainty before they go investing a lot of money.”

John Corbin, president of the Aquaculture Planning & Advocacy LLC, and the former manager of Hawaii’s state aquaculture program, Corbin acknowledges that while most people in the region recognize that aquaculture would be a positive for economic development and diversification, the process may be too difficult for any local projects to start up. The widespread acceptance of open-ocean aquaculture, he says, may also require nextgeneration technology to move it forward.

“I think it’s a long-range venture because I think we need next-generation technology to really utilize the exclusive economic zone for aquaculture,” says Corbin. “We need a demonstration of technology, we need commercially successful projects that will probably come from Europe and other places before it occurs here in the United States.”

Tilapia’s addition to Injurious Wildlife list “futile”

Blue Ridge Aquaculture says move would also result in ‘significant unintended consequences’

The world’s largest producer of indoor-raised tilapia is alarmed over the US government’s plan to consider the inclusion of various species of tilapia and their strains to the List of Injurious Wildlife.

In a December letter to Craig Martin, Chief of the US Wildlife Fish Service (USFWS), Virginia-based Blue Ridge Aquaculture said the plan, if implemented, would force the company to immediately close its business.

The plan, if implemented, would force Blue Ridge Aquaculture to immediately close its business, says president and CEO Bill Martin

Fish farmers group decry hike in workers’ comp insurance premiums

Employers

The Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association (ACFFA) has sounded alarm over the 33-percent increase in workers’ compensation insurance premiums that employers in New Brunswick, Canada will have to pay beginning this year.

WorkSafeNB, the government agency responsible for occupational health and safety, recently announced it is raising the average assessment rate for employers from $1.11 per $100 in 2016 to $1.48 in 2017, or by 33 percent, because of “recent benefit policy changes and a declining funding position.” This is the first rate increase since 2010.

“Increasing claim costs, mainly as a result of changes to benefit policies coupled with a slight increase in accident frequency, have led to a reduction in WorkSafeNB’s funding position,” the agency said.

While acknowledging that fish farmers work in varying and challenging conditions and “safe and healthy work environments are imperative,” the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association said it is also important to have “a functional workers’ compensation system in place that balances the needs of employees and employers.”

Susan Farquharson, the association’s executive director, believes the rate hike “will have an immediate and significant impact on the budgets of both big and small companies and subsequently the entire provincial economy.”

support provincial economic development, while operating under these unknowns?” she wrote in the association’s website.

“The system we have in place now that allows for such sudden, unplanned and disruptive increases is simply not acceptable, professional or productive. New Brunswick businesses need stability and predictability in order to survive and thrive.”

“The Injurious Wildlife petition completely threatens our entire business. If such a petition is approved, all of our research and development work will come to a stop, and our progress towards a more environmental sustainable food source will come to an end,” wrote Bill Martin, president and CEO of Blue Ridge Aquaculture.

Inclusion in the injurious wildlife list would mean the movement of the species across state lines, or their importation, would become illegal and a direct violation of the US Lacey Act. Penalties, both monetary and prison sentences await.

Martin noted that tilapia is a species that is already established in US waterways. To prevent the establishment of a species that is already established in US waters by adding it to the Injurious Wildlife list is not only “futile” but will also have “significant unintended consequences.”

“It will encourage overseas production and reward farmers that raise food using unsustainable methods. It will shut down farmers in America using sustainable methods and extinguish a developing and important US industry,” Martin wrote.

Instead, he said the USFWS should look at tropical fish intended for the hobbyist and aquarium industry, which he described as posing the “greatest threat.” The aquarium industry is not reliant on specific species, and substitutes could satisfy the demand; a flexibility that aquaculturists do not enjoy, he noted. “We urge the US Wildlife Fish Service to recognize the difference between the aquarium trade and aquaculture used for food production,” he said. (See Floaters & Sinkers on page 10 for more on the Injurious Wildlife petition.)

— Liza Mayer

“WorkSafeNB’s warning that subsequent rate hikes are likely for the foreseeable future is alarming as well. How can companies operating in New Brunswick plan and

She urged the New Brunswick provincial government to work with WorkSafeNB and New Brunswick businesses, including those in aquaculture, “to act quickly to find a solution that works for both employers and employees.”

— Liza Mayer

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Credit:

ACFFA

A fish farm worker. Safe and healthy work environments are imperative but balancing the needs of employees and employers is also important, says ACFFA

Project provides New Hampshire

continued from cover

and have no antibiotics or hormones,” said Chambers, who is Extension Specialist-Aquaculture, at UNH Cooperative Extension.

At Seaport Fish Company in Rye, New Hampshire, customers buy out the fish as soon as it’s stocked in the cooler, reported WSCH News. “There’s no real aquaculture to speak of around here so seeing a product that is raised in New Hampshire and raised in the ocean in New Hampshire is an exciting thing,” Rich Pettigrew, owner of Seaport Fish, was quoted as saying.

Evan Mallet, owner of Black Trumpet Bistro in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, also buys trout from the project. “It has a better flavor than you would find in a

freshwater fish like a rainbow trout...,” he told WSCH. Restaurants get to buy the fish at wholesale price, while at retail the fish sells for $16 per pound.

CO-CULTURE OPPORTUNITY

Steelhead trout are not the only produce from the floating farm. Mussels and seaweed thrive under the nets — thanks to the ammonia and phosphorus that the fish give off — opening up other business opportunities.

“The project provides eight-month old mussels to a group of fishermen (Isle of Shoals Mariculture) that are culturing mussels on submerged longlines offshore New

Hampshire. It takes 16 months to bring mussels to market at 55-60mm so this is a way for us to help seed new aquaculture companies,” Chambers told ANA

The kelp is sold locally to restaurants and breweries to make beer. “Kelp is a grown throughout the year and harvested in the spring and summer,” added Chambers.

Building on the project’s success in New Hampshire, Chambers hopes to expand the project with additional culture sites and IMTA rafts. “Maine could be an early adopter of the technology and has many areas along their coast for this type of aquaculture,” he said.

The floating IMTA raft off the New Hampshire coastline that is a shared program between the University of New Hampshire and N.H. Sea Grant

Steelhead trout just harvested and ready to be shipped to local fish markets and restaurants

Chef Evan Mallet preparing the UNH steelhead trout at his restaurant, Black Trumpet in Portsmouth, NH

Mussels growing under the nets open up other business opportunities

Credit: Rebecca Zeiber/N.H. Sea Grant

Credit: Robbin Ray/University of New Hampshire

Decoding the mystery continued from cover

What remains unknown is what happens to the larvae once the eggs hatch. This information is crucial in order to develop strategies to “short-circuit” the life cycle of the sea louse on farms. Until recently, it was thought that early sea lice larval stages were passive and drifted away with tides and currents. However, these free-swimming larvae have been shown to be active swimmers (up to 20 metres per hour) and continue to be found mostly in close proximity to salmon farms (albeit in low densities). These results also agree with the few available larval sea lice studies from scientists in other salmon-producing countries.

CRACKING THE CODE

With funding under DFO’s Program for Aquaculture Regulatory Research (PARR), Emily Nelson, a biologist at SABS hopes to help crack the code as to how and where these larvae go and how they survive until the stage when they are able to attach to their host.

“We now believe that these microscopic larvae are not passive, are capable of swimming and must have some mechanism that allows them to stay near farms to re-infest the fish. If we can discover where these larvae are, the potential exists to selectively target the larval stages, before they become infective on the salmon,” Nelson said.

Nelson has spent the past 18 months sampling the water in and around salmon aquaculture sites in southwest New Brunswick. She is looking for the microscopic larval stage of sea lice using submersible pumps and vertical plankton tows. This sampling will continue throughout the year to capture the rise and fall of sea lice densities on salmon farms and – for comparative purposes – at reference sites away from the sea cages.

Knowing what happens to the larvae once the eggs hatch is crucial in order to develop strategies to “short-circuit” the life cycle of the sea louse on farms

“Larvae are able to survive on their own for two life history stages – nauplius and copepodid – before they need to attach to a host or fish,” Nelson said.

The plankton tows allow her to concentrate the microscopic life from up to 4 m3 of water and take it back to the Biological Station for viewing and counting under a microscope. Here, the number and stage of larval sea lice are recorded into her database.

While the samples to date have revealed some interesting larvae distribution trends in being found in close proximity to the cages, Nelson says that it is too early to conclude too much on the implications of the work. This is due to the amount of work remaining such as counting previously collected samples, another six months of field work, and the subsequent analysis of data.

In addition to this study, a sea lice hatchery has been developed at SABS where Nelson and Dr Shawn Robinson are researching energy consumption of the early life stages of sea lice. This will address risk-related questions such as: how long can larvae survive before they need to attach to a host? And at what nutritional level are they too weak to infect a host?

DFO hopes the findings from these and other studies will provide a better understanding of the reproductive cycle of this parasite whose outbreaks can result in significant commercial losses. This information, along with factors such as water temperatures and currents will be used to develop a model to provide biologically-based information. With this information, better management measures can be implemented to reduce the incidence of sea lice infestations in the salmon farming industry. An improved understanding of the sea lice life cycle will also enable scientists to better understand potential impacts on wild Atlantic salmon.

“Our goal is to better understand how sea lice are remaining at sites to ultimately develop ways to reduce their severity and frequency on salmon. Any way that we can intervene in the reproductive cycle of this parasite is good for the fish and good for the farmers,” said Nelson.

To further this goal, she said the St Andrews Biological Station is also setting up an international network with other larval sea lice ecologists to facilitate research studies in the field so that problems can be resolved more timely and effectively.

Sea lice larvae (Nauplii II stage) photographed under a microscope (3.2 magnification). Emily Nelson aims to find out where these larvae go and how they survive until the stage when they are able to attach to their host

Credit: Emily Nelson, DFO

Map showing farm and reference sites sampled throughout Passamaquoddy Bay and surrounding waters in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick

FLOATERS & SINKERS

Injurious Wildlife… Really?

ust as “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” defining “injurious wildlife” is often very subjective. Regulations based on subjective evaluations and decisions are often wrong and are certain to be controversial, even when respect and trust between those regulated and the regulator are high. Such respect and trust between American aquaculturists and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has been rare in recent years. This somewhat harsh statement has grown increasingly accurate in recent years as the USFWS has morphed from a fish and wildlife resource conservation and management agency into an environmental regulatory and species protection organization.

Injurious wildlife regulations have received considerable attention from aquaculturists since September 2015 when the USFWS issued a proposal to list 10 species of freshwater fish and one crayfish as injurious wildlife. The species named in that proposal did not include any that are commonly produced by American fish farmers; however, several species produced in Asia and Europe were included in the proposal. The act of including these cultured species brought US aquaculturists to full alert.

A final rule listing all the proposed additions to the injurious wildlife list was published on September 30, 2016. The same day, a private non-governmental organization, the Center for Invasive Species Prevention (CISP) announced that they had submitted a petition to UFWS to list 43 species as Injurious Wildlife. The CISP list included the blue catfish, koi, grass carp, guppy, three species of tilapia (blue, Nile, Mozambique), flathead catfish, and red shiner. The USFWS does not have to adopt the CISP petition; however, the petition was based on findings produced by the Ecological Risk Screening Summary (ERSS) developed and used by the USFWS. Including fish produced by aquaculture in the petition, especially the tilapia, brought US aquaculturists to full alert and into action to oppose it (see page 7 for news of Blue Ridge Aquaculture’s reaction).

The Lacey Act, which provides the statutory authority for injurious wildlife designations and enforcement actions,

Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) and Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) are among the farmed fish species that are on the proposed list of injurious wildlife

has a long and contentious relationship with American fish farmers. Injurious wildlife actions were not a primary consideration when the Lacey Act was enacted in 1900. Only three species were designated at that time; none of which were fish. The Lacey Act provides substantial fines, and can include jail time for violations that involve transportation of wildlife across jurisdictional boundaries

BY JOHN G. NICKUM

if the wildlife was taken, or owned, in violation of State or Federal regulations. In the current situation, this means that possession or transport of a species designated as injurious wildlife would be considered a violation of the Lacey Act.

At this point, readers may be asking which characteristics and/or factors cause a species to be identified as injurious. The primary consideration is the probable negative effects on wildlife resources (species) or ecosystems, through competition for food and habitats, habitat degradation and destruction, predation, hybridization, and/or pathogen transfer. The potential for the species to survive, reproduce, spread, and become established (the probability to colonize) is also a highly important consideration; as is the probability of release or escape from holding or rearing facilities. Potential harm to humans or human activities caused by either the species directly, or human actions to control or eradicate them is yet another consideration.

The ERSS used by the USFWS is essentially a “quick and dirty” system used to make tentative evaluations and was never intended to be used by non-governmental organizations as a basis for petitions. An unwritten pseudo-principle that is prevalent within the USFWS and many environmental organizations is the belief that all non-native species should be considered to be injurious. The pseudoscience beliefs extend to firm convictions that any departure from the ecosystem species structures that existed in North America prior to European colonization is dangerous, and in the words of some zealots, “downright evil.” The individuals espousing these beliefs frequently quote the green pop-culture “Precautionary Principle” (actually a legal concept that developed in Europe) as a reason to take no risks whatsoever. The advocates of these so-called principles fail to understand that the balance of nature is much more a matter of détente than warm, fuzzy state of “kumbaya” among the species making up a natural ecosystem.

American aquaculture associations, especially the National Aquaculture Association, led by its President Jim Parsons and Executive Director, Paul Zajicek, have reacted quickly with science-based arguments and realistic economic projections to the CISP petition. Given CISP’s stated goals if implanting injurious wildlife regulations “more forcefully, or better yet, replacing the outmoded law with one that assesses potential risks before animals are imported” there is little hope for negotiated settlements. CISP is working its contacts in Congress to increase the USFWS staff and budget for injurious wildlife designations and enforcement. CISP states that its goal is prevention of potentially injurious wildlife, rather than control after the fact.

While I agree that a few non-native species have become injurious to American interests, native species, and ecosystems, I suggest that future classifications of injurious species must be based on full environmental reviews, preferably an Environmental Impact Statement, but, at least a formal Environmental Impact Assessment. A screening tool is not adequate.

Also, the USFWS needs to return to the aquaculture motto it adopted 25 years ago, “Help Aquaculture Grow.” That goal can be accomplished without sacrificing sciencebased species and ecosystem management.

Additional details on the issue can be found at USFWS website: www.fws.gov/injuriouswildlife/11-freshwaterspecies.html and at the CISP website: www.cisp.us

Credit: Wikimedia

Researchers develop new diagnostic test for salmon pancreas disease

Early-detection method raises flag that problem is developing

BY MATT JONES

Aresearch effort from the University of Glasgow in Scotland has discovered a new diagnostic test that can detect salmonid alphavirus infections, which cause pancreas disease. The new test – called the selective precipitation reaction (SPR) – may be a significant game-changer for detection of symptoms of pancreas disease, and other ailments that cause muscle damage, by enabling testing to be done on-site on live samples. The research was performed in partnership with BioMar Ltd and Marine Harvest Ltd.

Like many scientific discoveries, the new diagnostic test was developed almost by accident; then-University of Scotland PhD student Mark Braceland had been studying different ways of looking at individual proteins and markers when he came across a precipitation reaction which occurred with samples from infected fish, but did not occur in healthy fish.

“We were using a methodology that we can use in any species, for a protein called cellular plasmid,” says Dr David Eckersall, a professor of veterinary biochemistry at the University of Glasgow, who worked on the research with Braceland. “We applied this to the samples of salmon with pancreas disease and we found a very big response.”

The response was so large that it was a biological impossibility. Braceland and Eckersall found they were getting interference in the methodology of the precipitation reaction. When they realized what that strange result meant, they started to unravel the mystery.

“It’s nothing to do with the salmonid alphavirus, which is the agent involved in pancreas disease,” says Braceland. “What it’s really detecting is the pathological damage that’s elicited by that disease. In essence, it’s allowing us to identify, nondestructively, pathological damage. Right now, the only real established method for doing that is hepatopathology, which is also destructive. That really restricts how often farmers are looking for signs of pathology. Or they have to do it on already dead fish, so times when that really occurs is when mortality rates start to increase on a farm, but I would argue that you’re missing the boat by that point. You’re reducing the efficacy of the disease mitigation strategy you would have.”

Dr David Eckersall, professor of veterinary biochemistry at the University of Glasgow, helped develop a new diagnostic test that can detect the symptoms of pancreas disease quicker and non-destructively

viral infections, but functional feeds have been shown to be effective in reducing the pathological damage caused by infections. However, that relies on the identification of an issue before it becomes too big to try to mitigate.

“Its main benefit is that it can determine early on that there’s a problem,” says Eckersall. “The current methodologies, my understanding is that normally a tissue sample would have to be sent to a laboratory which could take a few days to analyze the result. This test is very cheap and we’re hoping to have it in a format that could actually be used on the fish farm side, so they can get an early warning that there’s a problem developing. Then you could use specific tests to really confirm what the problem is, but it could be an early detection system.”

Dr Mark Braceland began the work that developed the new diagnostic test while at the University of Glasgow

The goal is to have a routine test that can be used in labs that run health methodology assessments of salmon on farms. Eckersall says the test is simple enough that he expects it could be developed into a format where it could be applied on a fish farm.

“The actual technology isn’t very difficult, so given the right sort of conditions and resources, we should be able to develop it into something that would be very simple to carry out on a fish farm.”

EARLY-DETECTION METHOD

Braceland points out that aquaculture producers are limited in how they can treat

“The potential is pretty good,” says Braceland. “It can be carried out in the field. If something is flagged, it can be sent to a lab and the reaction can be quantified. This will allow us to monitor stocks more efficiently to see earlier warning signs of when a disease is developing within a stock, which can only help.”

Netting Protection

•

HEAT EXCHANGER HEALTH

Reduce Heat Exchanger Fouling

BY ERICH LUENING

Startup raising shrimp inland eyes South Carolina food scene

ar from the coast of the US State of South Carolina, known for its own wild shrimp fishery, a young couple of entrepreneurs are farming their first shrimp on land using a biofloc recirculation system in a rented warehouse.

Located in the northern part of the state in a town called Greenville, near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Urban Seas Aquaculture owner and founder Valeska Minkowski hopes to be selling Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) this spring to restaurants in the region.

Minkowski has always been aware of where her food comes from and how it’s harvested.

“I decided on shrimp specifically because it’s one of those species I love to eat personally, so it was more for selfish reasons at first,” she told Aquaculture North America (ANA). “We know farming shrimp inshore isn’t good for reasons like high bacteria rates and antibiotics use and fishing for wild shrimp has its own set of issues. I thought the most sustainable way would be to grow them on land using a recirculation system.”

Armed with a PhD in fisheries and aquatic sciences she had a leg up on most start-up aquaculture entrepreneurs, but she only had taken a few aquaculture related classes in all her time at school.

“Aquaculture 101 mentioned recirculation systems as one of the ways to farm fish on land,” she said. “We decided to go that route.”

She works the new shrimp farm with her husband Austin, who is a materials engineer during his day job, but a full partner in his wife’s business venture.

A SMALL INDUSTRY

Urban Seas joins a small but growing recirculation shrimp aquaculture sector in the US. There are a handful of closed system farms producing shrimp for the huge domestic market in the country.

Shrimp aquaculture in the States has traditionally occurred in inland waters among mangroves or man-made ponds primarily in the south of the country which takes up acres of land or miles of inland coasts, causing more than a few environmental concerns.

Domestic production fails to meet the massive consumer demand for shrimp, also called scampi, or prawn, so much of the shrimp making it on plates in the US are imported from Latin America or Southeast Asia, where labor, environmental, and chemical use concerns flood those industries, according to international food safety organizations.

In 2015, the US imported 585,826 metric tons (MTs) of shrimp from overseas while only exporting 18,367 MTs from the wild fishery, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that in the same year only 17 MTs of farmed shrimp were exported. This clearly shows a massive trade deficit when it comes to shrimp that’s existed for years.

The Minkowskis hope to add to those domestic production numbers one harvest at a time.

“I hope when we get further along we will be able to hire more staff,” she said, adding that other family members help when they can. “We’ve got eight tanks total. Four up and running and we add a tank every two weeks as the shrimp continue their growth stages.”

She said she gave this endeavor three years to take off. “Then we’ll take it to a bigger place, building and expanding without necessarily renting space.”

For now, she gets her post-larval shrimp at three days old from a shrimp hatchery in Florida. “Maybe, as part of the three year plan we may expand and take that part on ourselves too.”

All images credit: Urban Seas Aquaculture

Urban Seas Aquaculture owner Valeska Minkowski preparing the shrimp tanks. The startup currently has eight tanks

Valeska Minkowski noting water-quality measurements. She is giving the business three years to thrive

A Vegetable-based feed adds to alternative options for trout food

feed for fish with 100-percent plant origin has been developed and is being tested in farmed rainbow trout.

A researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Dr Luis Héctor Hernández Hernández, developed the feed, which consists of a mixture of pellets that concentrate soy protein, spirulina microalgae powder, yeast, proteases, lipids, vitamins and minerals, according to the Mexican news agency, Notimex.

Being plant-based, phosphorus is reduced by 50-75 per cent, thus it is friendlier to the environment. It is also said to be less expensive than feed made with fishmeal.

“It is a diet of vegetable origin, which does not use fish to feed fish; it seeks to be ecological and competitive on a commercial level, especially for rainbow trout aquaculture farms, from fingerling to juvenile fish,” FIS quoted Hernandez as saying.

The feed has already been tested experimentally and can also be used for carp and tilapia. A new composition is sought for crustaceans such as shrimp and prawns, which could be ready in three years, the news agency said.

U Shrimp production facility projected to generate $23 million annually in economic activity

S food technology multinational Ralco Aquaculture is preparing to begin construction of a shrimp production facility in the spring of 2018.

An economic impact study that the company commissioned to the University of Minnesota found that construction of a nine-acre facility would result in $14.5 million of labor income and support an estimated 330 jobs. Once the facility is constructed it will continue to generate an estimated $23 million annually in economic activity and provide employment directly and indirectly for 124 people, Ralco said in a statement.

The company, based in Minnesota, uses trū Shrimp Systems that utilize the Tidal Basin technology, created by Texas A&M University, which it says produces shrimp as naturally and safely as possible.

The fully integrated shrimp company also plans to construct two shrimp hatcheries, which will provide enough young shrimp to continuously stock

as many as three shrimp production facilities. The company forecasts that the production of one facility will exceed 50 percent of the current US shrimp aquaculture production.

The company added that it is also looking at constructing a processing facility, distribution sales & marketing, and hatchery in Marshall and Lyon County.

trū Shrimp President and CEO Michael Ziebell said trū Shrimp is an opportunity for people from the Midwest to invest in the Midwest.

“We are building the trū Shrimp company on the idea that the people of the upper Midwest are the first to invest in a Harbor [shrimp production facility] and the trū Shrimp company. We are not going to the coasts or Wall Street for investment money, but invite the agriculture community of the upper Midwest to invest here and allow that money to grow and provide a return to everybody,” Ziebell said.

The plant-origin feed is being tested on farmed rainbow trout

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Drakes Bay shutdown

continued from cover

FOCUS ON SHELLFIS

miles of wooden oyster racks and 500 tons of marine debris that once supported an operation that grew roughly

The closure of Drakes Bay resulted from a unique confluence of circumstances — most crucially the farm’s location in Point Reyes National Seashore.

An oyster farm was first established in 1935, and it wasn’t until 1962 that President John F Kennedy designated the area a national seashore. A decade later, the family operating the oyster farm sold the land to the federal government and signed a 40-year lease to farm oysters. In the mid-2000s, Lunny bought the permit and rebranded the farm “Drakes Bay Oyster Co.”

Workers at Hog Island Oyster Co harvest oysters in Tomales Bay. Hog Island co-founder John Finger suggests taking regulators and legislators out on the water to clear up misconceptions about oyster farming’s impact on the environment

It will be difficult for California to regain the oyster production it lost when Drakes Bay closed, given the hurdles to starting an oyster farm in the state. Lunny says he doesn’t want to give up oystering, but has yet to find a new place to launch anew. Prospective oyster farmers must contend with a thicket of regulations and permits from multiple government agencies such as the US Army Corps of Engineers and the California Coastal Commission.

“It’s not an easy business to find a place and get started,” Lunny says. “Most oyster farms have people. They’re successful. They’re not turning over. And we’re not seeing expansion in California.”

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FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

But the lease expired in 2012, and the Interior Department, which manages the land, decided against renewing. The resulting legal battles pitted Lunny and his allies in the local farming and food community against wilderness advocates. Environmentalists that normally would be allies turned into enemies.

TOUGH LESSONS

Lunny wishes he could have avoided those battles. The first lesson he offers for shellfish growers is to stay vigilant about standing up for the facts, he says. “Don’t be sure that completely false claims that are repeated and repeated won’t become truth,” he says. “Nip those things in the bud.”

Lunny says that regulators relied on dodgy science and dubious studies about the negative environmental impacts of oystering to justify closing the shellfish farm while allowing other commercial operations — cattle ranches — to renew their leases.

“To decide to renew without a reason would have been in violation of the law. They had to create a reason to not renew,” Lunny says.

Lunny’s second lesson is to establish working relationships with people that might initially oppose shellfish farming, especially local environmental groups. Have a respectful dialogue, and listen to their concerns. Work with them, whether they’re worried about plastic on the beach or bright lights and loud noises disrupting wildlife.

“Go out and see them, talk to them, take them out on the bay. Create a platform where these things can be discussed. They aren’t your enemy,” he says.

Do the same with elected officials, who might not be

educated about shellfish farming, Lunny says. “Make sure you’re available.”

Lunny’s third lesson is that shellfish farmers must hold each other accountable. If there’s a polluting shellfish farmer, it’s up to the community of shellfish farmers to work together to correct them.

Other California oyster farmers have garnered similar lessons from the Drakes Bay incident.

John Finger, who launched Hog Island Oyster Co in 1983 in Tomales Bay, just north of Drakes Bay, says that oyster farmers need to be more proactive about documenting the positive environmental effects of shellfish farming. Oyster farmers observe first-hand how their farms bolster the growth of eelgrass, an important habitat for juvenile fish. But official scientific results to confirm what farmers know from experience haven’t caught up. Vetted scientific studies are needed.

Oyster farmers also need to engage with policymakers at all levels, from Washington, DC to local planning commissions. That could mean taking regulators and legislators out on the water to see oyster operations and clear up misconceptions.

“People will paint it as industrial farming and it’s really not,” Finger says.

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An employee holds a bag of Hog Island oysters. Demand for the company’s Tomales Bay oysters has increased substantially since neighboring Drakes Bay Oyster Co was shut down in December 2014, says Hog Island co-founder John Finger

Credit: Hog Island Oyster Co.

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FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Hog Island Oyster Co worker lifts a wire rack of oysters out of the water at Tomales Bay. Co-founder John Finger says starting an oyster farm in California today is much harder than it was when he launched Hog Island three decades ago

Finger agrees. When he launched his farm more than three decades ago, he started with $500 in his pocket. At the time, it was easier to open a shellfish farm on the West Cost than the East Coast. These days, it’s the opposite, and West Coast permitting costs have soared, he says.

“We’re not getting a lot of new farms on the West Coast because the permitting process is so onerous. For someone to do what I did 30 years ago and start a small farm is just not feasible,” says Finger, who added that demand for his company’s Tomales Bay oysters has increased substantially since neighboring Drakes Bay Oyster Co was shut down in December 2014.

The California Shellfish Initiative, an effort to increase shellfish farming that the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association is spearheading, could help grow the industry in California.

There are other signs of progress in California, says Margaret Barrette, the executive director of the PCSGA. Elsewhere in the state, active farms are still growing oysters in Humboldt Bay, Tomales Bay and Morro Bay. Coalitions are working to make permitting more efficient and develop new technologies.

“There are some exciting things that are happening in California,” says Barrette. “Whether Drakes Bay was unique or telling of what we might see more of, I don’t think we know. Though it certainly remains on everyone’s mind as far as what can happen.”

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

University to convert aquaculture facility into an oyster hatchery

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) plans to acquire an existing hatchery and aquaculture facility that will enable it to lead oyster restoration efforts in the state of Mississippi.

In a project proposed by Governor Phil Bryant, the state will provide $7.7 million in funding from requested BP oil-spill settlement dollars for USM to acquire the Aqua Green hatchery facility and farm, located in Perkinston, Mississippi.

The Aqua Green facility incorporates nine structures, with a combined footprint of approximately 99,000 square feet on more than 47 acres of land. It serves as a land-based aquaculture research, hatchery and nursery center. Capable of yearround operation, Aqua Green has the ability to maintain appropriate salinity levels, recirculate artificial seawater and recapture salt for reuse.

Funding for acquisition of the facility will also support renovations for expanded oyster aquaculture research and production, teaching and student research needs, and integration and expansion of other USM aquaculture programs, such as blue crabs, finfish and shrimp, at the facility.

The university’s ultimate goal is to meet the Governor’s Oyster Restoration and Resiliency Council’s recommendation to produce 10 billion oyster larvae annually.

Hog Island Oyster Co workers bring in the harvest on the company’s boat, the Mud Marlin. John Finger, a co-founder of Hog Island, says many people have a misconception that oystering is a destructive form of industrial farming

Shellfish hatchery tanks in Aqua Green’s facility. The purchase will enable the USM to lead oyster restoration efforts in the state of Mississippi Credit: USM

The ultimate goal is to produce 10 billion oyster larvae annually

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Massachusetts wants slice of seaweed market

BY ERICH LUENING

Shellfish farmers on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in the US State of Massachusetts have begun commercial kelp farming pilot projects in the hopes of diversifying their products and introducing homegrown seaweed to the regional markets.

In the waters around the island located off Cape Cod, which juts off the state into the Atlantic Ocean like a bent arm, shellfish farmers have applied for permits over the last year or so to pilot a commercial sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) farming project led by shellfish biologist and hatchery manger of the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group (MVSG), Amandine Surier-Hall. Among these farmers are Dan and Greg Martino, owners of Cottage City Oysters, and local fisherman and shellfish farmer Stanley Larsen.

Surier-Hall told Aquaculture North America (ANA) that she sees the island as playing a dual role in the development of kelp farming in the state.

“Right now, it is leading the kelp movement by having the first experimental lines in Massachusetts waters,” she explained. “Later the Vineyard could become a resource for growers if the stateowned Hughes Hatchery in Oak Bluffs [a town on the island] becomes a regional kelp seed stock nursery.”

As co-director of the MVSG she was also responsible for finding the funding for the kelp project and partnering with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), which is just a ferry ride away on the mainland, to source the sugar kelp seed. WHOI has been conducting scientific research into various seaweed species for a number of years.

Cottage City Oysters was one of the first shellfish farmers to take part in both the scientific and commercial programs on the island.

The Martinos obtained permits for oyster farming about four years ago and now look to seaweed as a way to supplement the shellfish business, which has a different harvesting season than sugar kelp. Before they were allowed to farm kelp, they worked with local scientists on the best time, place and methods to grow kelp off Martha’s Vineyard.

“Amandine got the grant for researching sugar kelp for commercial growing,” Dan Martino said over a cup of coffee one January afternoon. “Last year we learned off our mistakes and this year the next run is growing better so far.”

MISTAKES PART OF SCIENCE

The first season of the project had mixed results.

The seaweed grew at their site but not at all to market size either because of water quality or some type of predation, SurierHall explained.

At the mussel farm on the western side of the island, Stanley Larsen also experimented with growing sugar kelp as part of the project and found similar results — the kelp did not grow to adequate market size.

Surier-Hall admits that hurdles and mistakes are part of doing good science in testing different methods, locations, and water quality.

Martino agrees. “One of the great things is we have learned a lot about our water quality at the site because that’s part of the science being done as part of the project,” he said.

As part of the deal with WHOI, the institute supplied the farmers with the kelp and collected data as it grew. That data was passed along to biologists, like SurierHall on the Vineyard, and David Bailey, a hatchery manager at WHOI, who works with the Martinos and Larsen.

Shellfish farmers join Martha’s Vineyard pioneer project to grow sugar kelp

The brothers Greg, left, and Dan, right, working their shellfish farm. They are looking at seaweed farming as a way to supplement their shellfish business

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Off the shores of Menemsha Harbor on another side of the island, Larsen grows his mussels on a five-acre site one-mile offshore where there are five 300-foot ropes hanging in 70 to 100 feet of water. This is the first mussel farm in Martha’s Vineyard. It was started by fisherman Al Gale six years ago, but worked by Larsen for the past year in a grant leased to him by the state.

Larsen has been working with another WHOI scientist, Scott Lindell, who planted sugar kelp above Larsen’s mussels. “We got a grant from the USDA [US Department of Agriculture] to work with shellfish farmers to do some double cropping,” Lindell said. “Diversification is a good thing,” he told The Martha’s Vineyard Times in December.

Sugar kelp is attached to ropes that hang above the mussel lines. The species of seaweed need to be in the sunlit portion of the water column. Unlike other species, sugar kelp is a winter crop; farmers plant it in November and December and harvest it in April and May.

POTENTIAL GROWTH

Since 2012, Massachusetts has been experimenting with seaweed farming and now has a small stake in this fledgling US industry. Worldwide, the seaweed market is about $5.5 billion.

Massachusetts seaweed farming is dwarfed by its New England cousin, the State of Maine, where wild harvesting and farming of seaweed has been a commercial success for years.

According to The University of Maine Sea Grant, sugar kelp was the first commercial kelp crop to be cultivated in Maine in 2010, with other native species under development since then.

Maine commercial seaweed farmers such as Ocean Approved and Maine Fresh Sea Farms are farming or harvesting as many as ten different species. All are edible and nutritious, although some more than others have been favored as food. These seaweeds, or “sea greens” as some refer to them, have been used for everything from fertilizing gardens to animal feed, to perhaps most consistently, in a financial sense, as a thickening agent for foods like puddings and ice creams.

Massachusetts seaweed farming is still in its early stages compared to Maine, but researchers and shellfish growers are willing to try it as a supplemental harvest to their regular shellfish farming even if there are some hurdles along the way.

“Maybe it’s a carbon or nitrogen deficiency,” Martino said about last year’s crop. “Even if it doesn’t become sixfeet long there is a market for baby kelp. It’s more tender and sweeter so there is even a chance for that market to open up.”

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Sugar kelp under microscope at Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Hatchery. Local scientists are studying the best time, place and methods to grow kelp

Credit (this page): Amandine Surier-Hall

Kelp seed at the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Hatchery. The project is a potential source for kelp seed stock for growers in the region

Sugar kelp growing on lines as part of pilot project. Sugar kelp is a winter crop that’s planted in November and December and harvested in April and May

Crassostrea virginica, the Eastern Oyster, being sorted by shellfish growers

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Oyster farmer tending to cages in Chesapeake Bay

Understanding Eutrophication

Oysters play role in improving water quality

BY HEATHER WEIDENHOFT

ot only are oysters a tasty treat packed with iron and omega 3, but researchers are hoping this powerful filtering dynamo will also help clean up one of the most important US waterways.

Recent studies are focusing on developing recommendations for addressing some of the problems caused by eutrophication, or nutrient overload, in Chesapeake Bay. The deteriorating water quality levels in and near the bay have long been on the government’s radar and a concern for fishermen and shellfish growers in that area. At the end of 2016, a special panel of aquaculture scientists from the NOAA Northeast Fisheries

Panel releases initial findings on using oysters to reduce nutrient load in Chesapeake Bay

Science Center, the Oyster Recovery Partnership, and the University of Maryland approved the “Oyster Best Management Practices” to develop ways that oysters may be used to reduce nutrients, in particular nitrogen and phosphorous, in order to meet the EPA’s water quality standards. The panel has just finished the first stage of approving best management practices (BMPs) for the uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus into oyster tissue.

OYSTERS AS FILTERING MEDIUM

Oysters gather food by filtering nutrients out of the water, and when harvested the nutrients absorbed in their tissues — including nitrogen — are removed from the environment. How effective they are at this process can

Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus are making their way into the waterways and have dramatically increased the nutrient load in Chesapeake Bay over the last two centuries due to human habitation and agriculture near the watershed.

In small doses, nitrogen and phosphorus stimulate the growth of algae and aquatic plants that are the basis for a healthy ecosystem. In large amounts, those same nutrients can cause an overstimulation of plant growth, which leads to harmful algal blooms and low oxygen conditions.

The economic loss due to eutrophication, or nutrient overload, doesn’t end with shellfish.

Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science have found concrete evidence that the low oxygen conditions, called “dead zones,” have direct impact on the distribution and abundance of demersal fish like white perch, Atlantic croaker, striped bass and summer flounder living and feeding near the bottom of the Bay. The study was authored by Andre Buchheister, who notes: “This is the first study to document that chronically low levels of dissolved oxygen in Chesapeake Bay can reduce the number and catch rates of fish species on a large scale.”

The water quality degradation has not gone unnoticed. Despite extensive restoration efforts during the prior 25 years, in 2010 the EPA was prompted into action by insufficient progress and established the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), a measure of accountability to ensure major changes are made to educe pollution and restore clean water to the region’s most important watershed.

be measured by applying the Farm Aquaculture Resource Management (FARM) model, which estimates the impact of shellfish nutrient removal through growth, harvest and shellfish production. Already used in 14 locations across nine countries and four continents, the model estimated an overall annual amount of nitrogen removed by shellfish from those locations between 105 to 1,356 pounds per acre.  The estimates can be counted towards reaching the TMDL requirements for Chesapeake Bay and given as “credits” for counties that agree to use approved BMPs and work with the shellfish industry to help clean up their nearshore environment. “The novel part of this project is engaging with new industry partners and joining with the aquaculture community for help in this large-scale clean-up,” Suzanne Bricker of NOAA told Aquaculture North America (ANA)

RESULTS ARE CYCLIC

In a perfect scenario, the proposed biofiltration project would create its own sustainable loop: Increased aquaculture leads to increased water quality, and vice versa. From this loop could emerge a new sustainable source of seafood, and the results from previous FARM models have already created a conversation between growers and regulators interested in using shellfish filtration to address eutrophication issues on a worldwide level. With so many positives (good for consumers, good for economy, good for the environment, good for wild oysters) it seems likely the panel recommendations will have far reaching implications. Panel discussions will continue into late 2017, when BMPs addressing the evaluation of oyster shells and burial of their biodeposits into sediments can be given a denitrification value for further credits to oyster growers. Julie Rose, also at NOAA, says, “The approach of biofiltration isn’t new, but the visionary aspect of Chesapeake Bay’s BMPs are addressing nitrogen in waters with a much broader application than ever before and providing a framework of policy that other states can use.”

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Credit: Oyster Recovery Partnership

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Maine mussel farm puts sustainability at its core

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Amid challenges posed by predators and the unpredictable environment, the company succeeds in producing tasty, grit-free bivalves

BY TOM WALKER

Ason-and-pop partnership is cultivating mussels suspended in rafts floating in the waters of the Casco Bay, in the Gulf of Maine, guided by the principles of environmental sustainability. “My father and I have both been interested in aquaculture for a long time, but what attracted us to Bangs Island Mussels was that it fit with our values of harmony with the environment,” says co-owner Matt Moretti. “We wanted to do aquaculture in a way that didn’t hurt nature around it, and potentially help the environment too.”

‘Many of the restaurants put our name on the menu and it helps with sales. People have come to realize that the brand means quality and a method of production they can get behind,’ ~ Matt Moretti

“Mussel farming is all that,” says Moretti. “It’s the most sustainable and lowimpact way of producing food I have ever heard of. They’re a filter for the ocean. We don’t add chemicals, we don’t use freshwater, we don’t have a lot of waste, everything is reusable like our lines, and the rafts will last for decades.”

“It has been a dream of mine to get some IMTA (integrated multi-trophic aquaculture) going,” says Moretti. “Recent studies show that kelp culture alongside shellfish culture can actually benefit both. The kelp get extra nutrients that they need from the mussels and mussels get a Ph buffering effect from

The company has been around since 1999 and Matt and his father Gary, purchased it six years ago. “We bought it from the original owner which is actually somewhat rare in Maine, as opposed to starting your own farm,” he says. “It speaks to the evolution of the industry in that it is older and more mature and becoming more valuable.”

“It was operating at a pretty small scale so we made it our mission to grow as quickly as we can,” Moretti explains. “Dad and I reinvested everything we could into the company and we grew the business to where it is today.”

They started with three rafts, one lease site, a barge and a skiff. Now they have 10 rafts, two lease sites, the barge and a larger lobster boat. “In the beginning it was myself and one employee with my dad helping out,” says Moretti. “Now we have grown to three full-time employees and about six part-time.”

IMTA AMBITIONS

The two sites with a total of 3.66 acres in Casco Bay, northeast of Portland Maine, are leased from the state. The 10 rafts are 40-by-40 foot square. Each raft can hold 400 long lines, 35-feet long. “The sites are actually quite small for the amount of mussels you can produce,” says Moretti. Each raft is wrapped in protective netting to keep out the voracious eider ducks. “They can eat their body weight in mussels in a single day,” Moretti says.

“We have managed to squeeze in two kelp long lines on the site and we will be putting in a scallop long line in the next couple of weeks,” Moretti says. “We have actually been doing kelp for about five years. It’s a great example of a high-quality delicious food we can produce, that doesn’t impact the ocean.”

Recently, a number of Maine growers had the opportunity to go to Japan to study scallop-farming (A story on the efforts to bring the Japanese earhanging technique to Maine appeared in Aquaculture North America, September/ October 2016, page 1.) “I learned all about the ear hanging [method] and we are pretty hopeful we can adapt their methods to the Maine environment and grow the scallop industry here,” says Moretti.

Bangs Island Mussels started with three rafts six years ago. It now has 10 rafts holding 400 long lines, 35-feet long each

All images credit: Josh Kuckens / Bates College

Matt Moretti and his father, Gary, at the Bangs Island Mussels processing facility continued on page 20

WATER TREATMENT SOLUTIONS

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Maine mussel farm

continued from page 19

The scallops, like the mussels, are a natural set. “People have been using a natural set in Maine probably for 25 years,” Moretti points out. “We have an abundant natural resource and we have never had to go the hatchery route.” There is some research work being done with mussel hatcheries in the area, he adds.

“Because of the timing of mussel farming we are actually increasing the natural resource,” Moretti explains. Mussels mature and spawn before they are large enough to harvest. “We can collect seed on our lease sites underneath our rafts well protected from the elements and predators that would affect them in a more open environment.”

Scallop seed is collected further offshore with a permit. “It works a similar way, in that you collect the seed and protect it and you have a much higher survival rate than you would in the wild,” says Moretti. “And it is certainly not impacting the wild population.”

“We work pretty closely with our governing body, the Department of Marine Resources,” says Moretti. “It’s a good relationship. Both sides are trying to make things better for the industry.”

AQUACULTURE TRENDING UP

Aquaculture is still quite small in Maine, Moretti says. “There is a lot of excitement around aquaculture right now. There are a lot of growers starting out, particularly in oysters and kelp. Aquaculture is certainly a way of supporting economic improvement in less affluent communities on the coast.”

Current harvest is 200,000 pounds a year, with an 18-month grow-out. “We just added three new rafts, so we will see how it turns out when we are going full scale,” Moretti says. “Right now we are harvesting about two times a week. In the summer we might pick it up to three times a week.”

He says they have a few different distributor/ wholesalers with about eight customers in total. Most sales are direct to restaurants, although there are a few retail stores that carry Bangs Island Mussels. “We have the Bangs Island brand name and I think it’s pretty strong. It’s a part of what we do,” Moretti says. “I understand many of the restaurants put our name on the menu and it helps with sales. We are not just mussels from Maine. People have come to realize that the brand means quality and a method of production they can get behind.”

Matt Moretti rinsing mussel harvest. Current harvest is 200,000 pounds a year, with an 18-month grow-out

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Technology transfer helps grow Alaska mariculture

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Farmers experiment with gear to enhance and diversify production

BY TOM WALKER

laska, the United States’ top producer of wild seafood, is just in its infancy when it comes to farming it. Current and prospective farmers are looking at the technology and equipment used in Maine, where farming of shellfish and seaweed have been a commercial success for years.

The Pacific Shellfish Institute (PSI) based in Washington State is helping to grow the Alaska shellfish and seaweed industries.

“The Pacific Shellfish Institute was involved in phase 1 of the Alaska Mariculture Initiative,” explains Julie Decker of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation. “PSI felt that a good next step would be to help existing growers to become more profitable in what they are currently doing with oysters and help them diversify into different species.”

Mariculture in Alaska is considered to be producing only a fraction of its potential, with 95 percent of the $1-million industry coming from sales of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas). Blue mussels (Mytilus trossolus) and a small amount of seaweed are the other species currently being raised. The Alaska Mariculture Diversification Innovation and Technology Transfer project received Sea Grant funding to help expand the industry. PSI is a collaborator and sub-contractor on this project.

The project has targeted current and prospective farmers through workshops and an Alaska Shellfish Growers conference in 2015 and 2016. They have also coordinated the distribution of seaweed seed and cultivation materials and new oyster growout gear in exchange for growers testing the gear, keeping records and sharing their results.

last year,” says Hudson. “Some got in the water, some not.”

“We do have some lessons learned already,” says Hudson. “One site in the Ketchikan area where they deployed floating Vexar bags found the wind and the waves just too much for it. They had a lot of their gear break apart. It won’t work at his site.”

“But the same bags work really well in Jakolof Bay up in the Homer area,” says Hudson. “There is not as much of a fetch towards the corner of the bay that a farmer

is working in and the floating bags are working beautifully.”

Hudson says they were concerned about local sea otters chewing the floats. “It’s not something they have to deal with in the north east but so far it has not been a problem,” she says.

“The Seapa baskets are suspended just below the water and they work great,” adds Hudson. “I know the folks who have been working with them are pleased. They are easy to handle, open and dump, and easy to monitor growth.”

PSI provides technical assistance and advice on best culture practices of oyster and kelp species, and works to connect Alaska with specialists on the East coast.

“The growing conditions in Maine and Alaska are quite similar,” explains PSI Executive Director Bobbi Hudson, from her office in Olympia, Washington.

“Maine has deep rocky shorelines with big tides. Neither area is suitable for beach culture. And Maine is really expanding their seaweed industry.”

Equipment experiments

Traditionally, Alaska oyster growers have used lantern nets, says Hudson. “But they are difficult to work with and are labor-intensive. A lot of growers have switched over to ‘Mexican style’ trays, hanging from buoys.”

Growers were interested in trying something else and they started looking out of state. “Vexar bags seemed like something to try but they didn’t just want to go out and buy it themselves,” Hudson says. “So this was an opportunity to access funding and try it out and experiment, at no cost to them.”

“We were able to purchase some Vexar bags, with the closed cell foam and the bouys already attached, from Maine. Trucking across the country was cheap but barging it up to Alaska was not,” she adds.

Each grower in the program received 44 five-inch-deep Vexar boxes with foam floats, 44 three-inch-deep Vexar bags with floats, and 22 Seapa baskets. “We didn’t get the gear distributed until mid summer

Jakolof Bay Oyster Co owners Frank and Margo Reveil examining sub-market-sized Pacific oysters on their farm in December 2016

All images credit: Bobbi Hudson, Pacific Shellfish Institute Vexar bag modified with commercial fishing floats. One of many designs used by Jakolof Bay Oyster Co to maintain a surface depth for their oysters

Frank Reveil returns Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) to a Seapa basket for further growout

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

Alaska Mariculture Initiative gains momentum

Endowed with seafood infrastructure and a rich coastline, the United States’ biggest producer of wild seafood is looking to expand its stake in mariculture

BY TOM WALKER

FOCUS ON SHELLFISH

hy not Alaska? That’s a question that Alaska shellfish and seaweed growers are starting to ask themselves. The $6-billion seafood industry in the state produces more seafood than the rest of the US combined. Indeed, if Alaska were a country it would be in the top 10 for seafood production, yet almost all of that comes from the wild fishery.

Industry organizers see a lot of potential for mariculture in Alaska. “We are aiming to grow the current industry from $1 million to $1billion over the next 30 years,” says Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) Executive Director Julie Decker, from her office in Wrangell, Alaska.

“Our organization represents the traditional seafood industry and we focus on research and development,” says Decker. “So it gives a different look at what mariculture can be.” AFDF has been leading the Alaska Mariculture Initiative over the last three years.

OceansAlaska hatchery facility in Ketchikan, Alaska. The non-profit aims to expand mariculture and enhance wild stock for oysters, geoducks, sea cucumbers and kelp in Alaska by making commercial quantities of seed available

FOCUS ON

The goal is to grow Alaska’s mariculture industry from $1 million currently to $1billion over the next 30 years, says Julie Decker, AFDF Executive Director

“We developed the Initiative and NOAA funded it with a grant,” says Decker. She explains that what began as a two-year project with a steering committee to contact stakeholders, hold some workshops and come up with a plan, has continued to grow. “The state manages these resources, so we knew from the beginning we would have to have them on board,” she says. “We met with the Governor and asked that he consider supporting the initiative. He was happy that we had a long-term vision to grow the industry and he set up the task force.”

Governor Walker established the Alaska Mariculture Task Force in February 2016, with a directive to present

recommendations by March 2018. While it furthers the profile of the Mariculture Initiative, the governor’s support, unfortunately, didn’t come with a sack full of money. “Oil revenues for the state are way down,” Decker says. “It’s actually been useful to get people to the table to plan in a positive, cooperative way, because there isn’t any money.”

Seaweed seed at hatchery in Juneau, Alaska. ‘There is a lot of excitement around seaweed. All of a sudden it is really hip, cool, and interesting,’ says Decker

Phase1 of the Mariculture Initiative was completed in March 2015. The “Economic Analysis to Inform the Alaska Mariculture Initiative” is a set of nine case studies, which look at examples of successful mariculture industries around the world, and how they may relate to development in Alaska.

The salmon and crab industries in Alaska, geoduck in Washington State, mussels in Spain, New Zealand and Prince Edward Island, clam farming in Florida and the First Nations shellfish industry in British Columbia, were all examined. Key elements of success in each industry were identified and they will be used to inform future phases of the Initiative.

Phase 2 of the Initiative (underway now) is an economic analysis of the Alaska mariculture industry, and Phase 3 will study the potential economic impact of the industry to the state.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

warmer locales. Indeed, it’s too cold for wild spawning. And there was no Alaska hatchery spawn in 2015. Eyed larvae to mature in local nurseries, or smaller juvenile seed, were imported from the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

“We are seeing a move away from the mom-and-pop operation that has been working on a shoestring,” says Decker. “An engineer who did work on the hatchery in Ketchikan tapped into the government’s revolving loan fund and put in some stateof-the-art equipment four years ago,” says Decker. That grower is just beginning to harvest and Decker says he has the potential to produce almost as much as all the farmers in the state together.

Maine’s Aquaculture Business Incubators provide entrepreneurs and business startups professional support and excellent facilities to develop their aquaculture ideas.

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• Assistance in grant writing and identifying funding opportunities

• Plus exceptionally high quality sources of water!

For more information, contact: Chris Davis, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center 5717 Corbett Hall, Rm 436, Orono, ME 04469-5717 • 207-581-2263 • maic@maineaquaculture.org Grow your idea here!

There is a lot of potential. Alaska has some 35,000 miles of coastline, a wellfunded seafood harvesting, processing and distribution system that accesses products from across the state (often in remote locations) and a state-sponsored marketing arm. “We know how to do seafood,” says Decker.

But the shellfish industry can be described as lackluster. Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports that farmed oyster sales in 2015 were 1.7 million Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas), followed by 16,688 pounds of Blue mussels (Mytilus trossulus), a 74-percent increase over 2014, and a small amount of seaweed.

There are some challenges. In the cold Alaska waters, oysters mature in three to four years compared to 18 months in

But why call it mariculture? “Alaska has this unique relationship with the word aquaculture,” Decker explains. Finfish farming is illegal in the state and the Initiative has taken pains to explain that they are not about to farm fish. But there is a very successful salmon enhancement program that supports the state’s wild fishery. Many of the private non-profit hatcheries that do the enhancement belong to what they call ‘aquaculture associations’.”

Decker says the number one challenge will be public acceptance. “One of our committees is public education and marketing,” Decker points out. “We have been very careful in how we involve the public in this whole process.”

“There is a lot of excitement around seaweed. All of a sudden it is really hip, cool, and interesting,” says Decker.

She says regional aquaculture associations are showing interest in the Initiative. “They are curious as to how they might be able to integrate mariculture into their salmon enhancement program, and some ask if I think mussels might work,” Decker adds.

Credit: Blue Evolution

Credit: Peter Metcalfe

New player in BC’s aquaculture scene reveals expansion plans

acific Aquaculture International, a new shellfish hatchery and nursery operation in British Columbia, Canada, has revealed plans to target the North American market for its mature shellfish products as part of its phase-two activities.

The second phase of the project, slated for completion in September 2020, will start with mature scallops, but the company also has a federal commercial licence for 23 other shellfish species, including clams, geoducks, oysters and mussels. It will not raise or harvest any finfish species, the firm said.

Once the second phase of investment is completed, the company will have the potential to be among the largest shellfish hatchery and farming operations in North America when operating at full capacity, the company said on its website.

Its phase-one activities include shellfish research and development, and a Japanese scallop seed hatchery, which started operations in September 2016.

It has invested $10 million to date in the construction of its 34,000-square-metre, state-ofthe-art hatchery facility in Powell River, BC, and plans a total investment of $30.2 million (C$40 million) over five years.

Nutrient approval opens path to feed devoid of fishmeal

US joins Europe and Canada in allowing taurine in fish feeds

egulators have approved a supplemental nutrient that will allow fish feed manufacturers to use less fishmeal.

The approval of taurine by the Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) brings US feed manufacturers one step closer to a feed that meets the nutritional needs of fish while relying less on fishmeal from wild-caught fish.

It also means expensive fishmeal can be replaced with cheaper substitutes. “This should reduce feed costs,” Allen Davis, an alumni professor at Auburn University, tells Aquaculture North America (ANA)

Fish require about 40 different nutrients, including taurine, according to Mike Rust, the aquaculture science advisor for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Most, such as amino acids, can be sourced from various plants, while others, such as vitamins and minerals, are easily supplemented.

Taurine, however, must be added through other means. Synthetic taurine is already produced for chicken and cat feed — and energy drinks — but until recently wasn’t allowed in fish feed.

to lower the amount of fishmeal used in feed, reducing costs for fish farmers

“It doesn’t really matter where those nutrients come from, as long as they’re presented to the fish in a way that they can use them,” Rust tells ANA.

The last step in fully removing fishmeal from feeds is to supplement omega-3 fatty acids, which make seafood so

healthy, Rust says. Those nutrients can be harvested from micro algae, produced in modified bacteria, generated by enzymes in a test tube or created by genetically modified corn, soy or other crops, Rust says.

University researchers and federal scientists worked for years on the taurine approval.

Auburn University researchers first submitted documents detailing taurine’s effectiveness and safety in fish feed to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which reviewed them last September, according to Guillaume Salze, a research associate at Auburn University. Then the FDA recommended approval to the AAFCO’s board, which made its decision in January.

The approval of taurine levels the playing field between US fish feed manufacturers and those in Canada and Europe, who have long added taurine to feeds. “Until now, US feeds were not competitive,” Salze says.

Procuring taurine from sources other than wild-caught fish species such as sardines, anchovies and herring will make aquaculture more sustainable, says Rust, the NOAA scientist.

“We get this notion that fish aquaculture is tied to wild fish harvest. And this is one of the last steps in decoupling that,” Rust says.

—

Aaron Orlowski

Fish feed is produced at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. Recent approval of the nutrient taurine in the US will allow feed manufacturers

Credit: Mike Rust, NOAA

An artist’s rendering of Pacific Aquaculture’s facility in British Columbia, Canada

Aquaculture’s future growth hinges on diversification

Other

BY RUBY GONZALEZ

roduction of farmed finfish in Atlantic Canada has been falling since 2012, a trend that could stifle the growth of the aquaculture industry, an expert suggests.

Atlantic salmon and trout aquaculture production in Atlantic Canada peaked in 2012 to 53,206 tons, only to plummet by 44 percent to 29,988 tons in 2014, the lowest since 1999, according to a recent study citing DFO statistics. During the same period, shellfish production increased by 40 percent to 28,981 tons

The drop in salmon and trout production has been traced to stagnant aquaculture sites, diseases, social resistance, expensive operating costs and lack of investment from global players, said Thierry Chopin, Scientific Director of the Canadian Integrated MultiTrophic Aquaculture Network (CIMTAN).

He believes the growth of the aquaculture industry hinges on diversification of production to other species.

“It is important to look at the numbers and understand what trends are signaling for the future…I do not see a reversal of the trend. We just need to evolve,” Chopin told the audience at Aquaculture Canada and Cold Harvest 2016 in September. At the conference, he presented his paper: “Faced with decreasing salmon production and pending climate changes, the only hope for aquaculture development in Atlantic Canada is diversification within an integrated coastal area management strategy,” which he co-authored with Adrian Hamer, CIMTAN network manager.

He said aquaculture production in Atlantic Canada has historically centered on finfish, mostly salmon and trout. Not only is their production declining, associated employment has also been decreasing in recent years, Chopin told Aquaculture North America (ANA) “We know that monoculture in agriculture is risky, much like investing in only one stock on the stock exchange. The same applies to aquaculture: putting all your eggs in the same salmon basket is also risky. We just need to diversify,” Chopin said.

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SEAWEED AND INVERTEBRATES

He said diversifying production to include seaweed and invertebrates such as scallops and clam, and cultivation of sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sea worms, lobsters and beneficial bacteria shows potential. Farming of other species of fish have been tried, but with not much success, he noted.

Farmers have been steadily increasing production of mussels to make up for stagnant prices. And, with the potential problems of carrying capacity in some bays, Chopin said that diversification into other shellfish stocks is important.

He acknowledged that shellfish aquaculture has its challenges, such as diseases, biofouling and stagnant prices. But there is room for expansion, he said, especially for mussel, which is better perceived by the public.

“Amazingly, mussels need to be specified as ‘cultured’ to be purchased without hesitation by consumers, while ‘farmed salmon’ is not always appreciated,” he said.

Seaweed is also a good candidate, he said. “We (CIMTAN) are presently growing two species of kelp and working on the cultivation of dulse, but we need to look at the cultivation of other seaweeds as well. This group of organisms is completely underestimated in Canada and the western world generally.”

Globally, seaweeds comprise nearly half of the biomass produced through mariculture, with 96 percent coming from six Asian countries, he said.

The benefits from seaweed are far-reaching. “Beyond the value for their biomass, seaweed provides key ecosystem services, such as nutrient bioremediation, oxygen provision, carbon sequestration, reduction of coastal acidification. The value of the ecosystem services provided by these extractive species, and others such as shellfish and a number of other invertebrates, should be recognized, accounted for and used as financial and regulatory incentive tools such as nutrient trading credits,” he said.

INTEGRATED STRATEGY

Key in diversification is an integrated coastal area management (ICAM) strategy that would leverage on the ecosystem services provided by the extractive species, said Chopin.

“We have to stop kidding ourselves. A major rethinking is needed regarding the functioning of an ‘aquaculture farm.’ It does not work only within the limits of a few buoys of a finfish site on the water, or a few GPS coordinates on a map. It should be managed using an ICAM strategy, based on different spatial and temporal recapturing strategies to recover the different nutrients.

“Large particulate organic nutrients can be managed within the site. Small particulate organic nutrients can be managed within the site or around its immediate vicinity. Dissolved inorganic nutrients should be managed at the ICAM scale either when produced directly or after re-mineralization of the organic matter,” he said, adding that diseases and parasites are already being managed this way.

Cultivating kelp with scallops at Magellan Aqua Farms Inc in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. From left to right: Caroline Longtin (postdoctoral fellow), Kasper Brandt (summer student), Steven Backman (owner of Magellan Aqua Farms Inc.) and Thierry Chopin (Scientific Director of the Canadian Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture Network)

Credit: Adrian Hamer

Global aquafeed market to reach $156 billion by 2022

Rising commercialization of seafood expected to boost the aquafeed market

Arecent study on the aquafeed market sees the global market growing to $156 billion by 2022, or a CAGR of 13.3 percent during the period 2016-2022 due to increasing seafood consumption.

Fish and molluscs end-use segment accounts for more than three-fourths of the total aquafeed consumption, says the report, published by Allied Market Research. China and Indonesia account for about 75 percent of the Asia-Pacific aquafeed market in 2015, the report added.

Fish feed. Rising commercialization of seafood expected to boost the aquafeed market by roughly 14 percent over the next five years

DRIVERS OF GROWTH

Aquafeed is a compounded meal that consists of various raw materials and additives, which provides nourishment and enhances overall growth and productivity of aquatic animals. The global aquafeed market is expected to grow at a considerable rate due to rising seafood consumption, increasing consumer concerns and regulatory pressure to maintain highquality fish to avoid any outbreak of diseases such as salmonella.

Rising commercialization of seafood across rural and urban regions are expected to further boost the market. However, factors such as increasing raw material prices (fish meal, fish oil, wheat barley and others) and stringent regulatory structures formulated for manufacturing aquafeed additives, would hinder the market growth, the research firm said.

Amino acids and vitamin segments accounted over one-thirds of the aquafeed additive market in 2015. Amino acids play an important in the development of nutrition and metabolism of aquatic animals, and hence this trend is projected to continue in the future, the report added.

KEY FINDINGS:

• Crustaceans are projected to be the fastest growing segment in the global aquafeed market registering a CAGR of 13.7 percent (value terms) during 2016 and 2022

• Amino acid is projected to be the fastest growing additive segment in the aquafeed additives market registering a CAGR of 7.9 percent

• Carps held 39.9 percent market share in the fish segment in 2015, in terms of volume

• Asia-Pacific is projected to occupy the highest market share with a CAGR of 13.1 percent

• China would continue to lead the aquafeed market at a CAGR of 12.3 percent

Dutch fund expands North American aquaculture portfolio

The Netherlands-based aquaculture investment firm Aqua-Spark has added to its North American porfolio by investing in LoveTheWild, a Colorado-based company that offers ready-to-prepare seafood kits.

LoveTheWild’s product is presently 60-percent farmed fish and 40-percent wild fish. With the $2.5-million funding from Aqua-Spark, LoveTheWild hopes to quickly move towards 100-percent sustainably farmed fish, the fund said in a statement.

The investment marks the fund’s first foray into the consumer market. LoveTheWild aims to have its products in 6,000 stores across the US over the next five years.

The fund also announced that it made investments in Indian Ocean Trepang, a Malagasy company specialized in the breeding and export of sea cucumbers. The firm holds the exclusive global licensee for an innovative patent on in-vitro fertilization of sea cucumbers.  “This, combined with funding from Aqua-Spark, has positioned them to become the world’s leader in growing sea cucumbers – an ocean species that is both a delicacy in Asia and filter for fish farms,” said the fund.

Launched in 2013, Aqua-Spark’s first investee was the US alternative fish feed nutrient maker Calysta. Since then, Aqua-Spark has $ 27 .25 million under management, dedicated to investments in elements of the aquaculture industry that will make fish farming sustainable. The goal of the fund is to grow to $400 million by 2025.

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With the $2.5-million funding from Aqua-Spark, LoveTheWild hopes to quickly move towards 100-percent sustainably farmed fish

The investment marks the fund’s first foray into the consumer market

Credit: Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery

Credit: Australis Aquaculture LLC

MARKET SPEAK

By Joe Sabbagh

Aquaculture North America (ANA) welcomes guest columnist Joseph Sabbagh. Joe has been involved in the seafood industry since 1979 as owner and operator of various seafood retail concerns, who, in 1985, established consultancy firm Sax Maritime Associates. Joe’s knowledge and insight into the seafood industry enabled the company to provide its clients solutions that incorporate trends, concept design, merchandising, marketing, operating systems, training as well as sourcing and distribution efficiencies. Through this column, Joe will share his thoughts and hopes to start conversations on timely industry topics.

North American Atlantic salmon market: Success and challenges

armed Atlantic salmon has a long history of success. Records of fertilization trials of Atlantic salmon in Europe go back to 1763. Salmon farming started in Norway in the late 60s with North American farms starting up in the early 70s. Today North American Atlantic Salmon farms are owned by well-financed and -managed Norwegian and Canadian companies on both coasts of Canada and the states of Washington and Maine.

Technology and nature can often have a contentious relationship. The producers have innovated and continue to improve technology and sustainability. All over the world the farmed salmon industry has been on a roller coaster since the 80s. The current pricing has the major stakeholders smiling at the top of their ride. Short-term indicators point to continued strong pricing. The pioneers and current operators should be commended for their great work and products.

From my experience these farms produce the best, farmed finfish product in North America. At the very top is the fish coming from British Columbia farms. BC farmed salmon is a favorite of Asian consumers in the West and is often shipped to the East coast. The East coast farmers have more offshore competition especially at the high end.

CHALLENGES

The perspective I strive to provide is from the consumer kitchen table, retail case or restaurant serving line as opposed to the production side. Fish farmers and wild fishermen have a difficult job and often lose sight of end-user concerns in their daily battle with nature and competitors.

North American producers enjoy a logical advantage over imports to some of the most affluent metro areas in

the world. However in my opinion their marketing efforts have fallen short in influencing many of these high-end consumers to accept farmed salmon. This is not only a farmed salmon issue as all aquaculture products are not valued as they should be. The entire seafood industry has made the mistake of being reactive in their marketing as opposed to being proactive.

The major players in the sector must reevaluate their marketing to consumers and strategies towards activists. In Western Canada the industry has left itself open to more attack by some very dubious but loud activists. Not adequately

Just about every problem on the market level in the seafood industry comes back to the glaring need for better marketing and changing the narrative.

promoting their many sustainable achievements and contributions to the community since their inception only emboldens those that make a living working for a “nonprofit.” In the East the growers have lost the high end of the market to UK and other offshore growers. They have

not fully used their Canadian or USA production points to full advantage. Regulations are a major challenge for all aquaculture companies in the US and Canada. The lack of consumer acceptance and false narrative will empower those creating the obstacles. Still more need for better marketing.

LAND-BASED FARMS

There are land-based farms in BC and Nova Scotia in full production and selling in Canada. The technology is very promising and others are looking at setting up in landlocked large cities. Fish from these land-based operations sometimes fetch higher prices than ocean pen fish, making high-end retailers and restaurants their best target. But whether farmed on land or in the ocean they are still farmed, which many high-end educated consumers have a number of issues with. Land-based fish address some of these issues but may not satisfy them all. The big question is how much metro areas will be able to consume. In today’s producer-friendly market, premium eco-friendly salmon has struggled to gain market share.

Salmon aquaculture is not for the faint of heart; it is not a business I would suggest to newcomers. The companies involved are significant and have a strong position that should make new players think twice about competing against. There is better opportunity in ancillary services and products.

“IT’S LIKE DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN”

— YOGI BERRA

Just about every problem on the market level in the seafood industry comes back to the glaring need for better marketing and changing the narrative. As an industry selling healthy food we have not supported our products or efforts sufficiently. The North American farmed salmon industry is a good example of that. I hope the industry decides to use the many resources they have to improve the image of their products and practices as they have a great story to tell.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Altantic salmon. Columnist notes the need for better marketing of aquaculture products

Northern Harvest Sea Farms’ expansion will boost its production by 6,000 tonnes of salmon annually

Canadian salmon farmer invests $4.5 million in expansion

armed salmon producer Northern Harvest Sea Farms is investing around $4.5 million (C$6 million) into its operations in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the company announced recently.

By expanding its hatchery, the company will increase its production capacity by an additional 1.5 million smolts, or 6,000 tonnes of harvested product, each year. The expansion will bring the company’s total salmon production to about 22,000 tonnes.

The company has planned a number of other capital investments, including four new hatchery feeding systems for its operations throughout the province at $2 million each.

In December 2014, Northern Harvest Sea Farms became the world’s first salmon company to achieve four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) status. This means its salmon processing plants, farm sites, hatcheries and feed mills are all BAP certified.

Canadian firm gets green light to sell insect larvae to aquaculture industry

nterra Feed Corporation, based in Langley, British Columbia, has received approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to sell its whole dried black soldier fly larvae as a feed ingredient for salmonids, including farmed salmon, trout and arctic char.

The approval makes the company the first to market and sell the product to aquaculture feed manufacturers in Canada. This is the first Canadian approval of an insectbased aquaculture feed ingredient, and follows the CFIA’s approval using this same product in feed for chicken broilers last year, the company said in a statement. Enterra received a similar US approval for use in salmonid feeds in 2016.

Canada is the fourth-largest producer of farmed salmon in the world, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. In 2015 the farm gate value – the net value when it leaves the farm – of salmon and trout in Canada was $850 million.

“Aquaculture feed producers have been keenly awaiting this approval and we look forward to supplying their

needs immediately,” said Andrew Vickerson, Chief Technology Officer, Enterra. “Fish eat insects in their natural environment and our product is a healthy, digestible and renewable source of protein and fat that can replace less sustainable ingredients, including fish meal and soybean meal.”

Production of fishmeal, which is a standard aquaculture feed ingredient, can deplete wild ocean fish stocks and is subject to substantial price fluctuations. Soybean meal requires significant agricultural inputs that could otherwise be used more efficiently to grow food for people.

“Insects are a natural source of digestible protein and fat for fish, including salmon and trout,” said Dr Brad Hicks, a veterinarian and partner in Taplow Feeds, an aquaculture feed manufacturer. “This product will contribute to healthy, active fish and is a great alternative feed ingredient.”

The company collects pre-consumer recycled food — deemed as waste product — from farms, grocery stores and food producers and feeds it to black soldier fly larvae.

Enterra says its insect-based feed ingredients are sustainably produced with a long-term price guarantee. The company collects pre-consumer recycled food — deemed as waste product — from farms, grocery stores and food producers and feeds it to black soldier fly larvae, which grow rapidly under controlled conditions. Once mature, the larvae are processed into renewable feed ingredients in the form of Whole Dried Black Soldier Fly Larvae, Enterra Meal (made of de-fatted larvae) and Enterra Oil (extracted from the larvae).

Enterra says its sales have tripled each year since its Langley farm opened in 2014. Through its proprietary process, Enterra has converted tens of thousands of metric tonnes of pre-consumer waste food into sustainable feed ingredients for its growing customer base. The company plans to expand its existing facility and establish additional farms in Canada and the US to meet the increased customer demand anticipated to result from future US and Canadian approvals of a complementary feed product, Enterra Meal. These approvals are expected in 2017.

Black soldier fly larvae feeding on papaya peel and vegetable scraps

Enterra’s facility in Langley, BC. The approval makes the company the first to market and sell the product to aquaculture feed manufacturers in Canada

BY ERICH LUENING

Pentair attracts hedge fund and other Wall Street excitement

Minnesota-based Pentair enjoyed an influx of investor cash in the final quarter of 2016, boosting its stock by at least 40 percent, according to the company.

The industrial water treatment and land-based aquaculture technology maker had a one-year low of $41.57 per share and one-year high of $66.99. At the time of writing this report the stock price was at $60.83.

A number of hedge funds and institutional investors added to their stakes in the company. Among some of the biggest stakeholders in Pentair is KCG Holdings Inc, which increased its stake in the company by 40.9 percent during the third quarter (Q3), according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). KCG owned 25,737 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,477 shares during Q3. The financial firm’s holdings in Pentair PLC were worth around $1.6 million as of its most recent SEC filing.

Slow Chinese economy drags down Canadian firm’s sales

Vancouver-based aquaculture company Gourmet Ocean Products Inc reported sales of around $3.8 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016, down from $4.2 million, or roughly 10 percent, year-on-year. The company said this was due to the drop in sales of harvested sea cucumber in China due to a slowing down Chinese economy.

The firm produces, distributes and sells seeds and mature sea cucumbers, scallops, and geoduck internationally.

Cash flow improved during the last fiscal year as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was negative $631,563 versus negative $1.3 million during 2015.

Gross margin during the last fiscal year was 31.1 percent compared with 22.9 percent in the year ended September 30, 2015. The increase was due to the change to a new Chinese distributor in April 2015. As a result, the company has experienced higher sale prices. The increase in gross margin was also due to an increase in margins in retail sales in Canada and China.

Shrimp aquaculture biotech firm’s revenue up

New Jersey-based Epicore BioNetworks Inc said its first quarter (Q1) revenue for fiscal year 2017 was $2.5 million, which is 20 percent higher than last year’s Q1. Net income was $0.2 million or $0.009 per share for the period ended September 30, 2016, which was the same as last year.

The aquaculture biotech company pointed to shrimp diseases such as early mortality syndrome (EMS) and a new microsporidian disease called enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) as having affected several Southeast Asian (SEA) producing regions. In SEA, low prices combined with the risk of disease have resulted in a drop in shrimp stocking. Despite this situation, sales resumed to Vietnam and increased in Indonesia and India. Sales were especially strong to newer sales areas like Australia and Singapore and to Africa.

Epicore BioNetworks manufactures and sells environmental biological products and specialty feeds primarily for the aquaculture industry, such as granular hatchery feed for shrimp.

Cargill’s adjusted operating earnings up 80 percent in Q2 fiscal 2017

American feed giant Cargill reported financial results for the fiscal year 2017 second quarter (Q2) and first half (H1) ended November 30, 2016, announcing that earnings were up 80 percent year-over-year as every segment of the company made gains.

The largest privately owned company in the US reported that adjusted operating earnings rose 80 percent to $1.03 billion in the second quarter, compared with $574 million in the year-ago period.

For the first-half, adjusted operating earnings stood at $1.86 billion, up 57 percent over last year.

Net earnings for the quarter on a General Accepted Accounting Principals (US GAAP) basis were $986 million, down 29 percent from $1.39 billion a year ago, when Cargill realized large gains from business divestitures, which were excluded from adjusted operating earnings.

First-half net earnings were down 3 percent to $1.84 billion for the same reason. Revenues were $26.9 billion and $54 billion for the quarter and half, respectively, each down 1 percent from last year.

Credit: Walkinger.com

Marine Harvest to delist from NY Stock Exchange Reports

record earnings in 2016

n a move aimed at simplifying its financial reporting process, Norway-based salmon farming giant Marine Harvest announced that it is delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

In a statement on February 15, the company said that only about 3 percent of the worldwide trading volume in Marine Harvest shares in the past 12 months occurred in the United States while the costs of maintaining an NYSE listing and a registration under the Exchange Act are significant. Its Board has therefore concluded that it is in the best interest of the shareholders to discontinue the US listing and terminate its reporting obligations in the US.

“The delisting and deregistration will enable us to simplify financial reporting processes, while maintaining the same highquality IFRS compliant financial reporting and disclosures.

Idaho farmer to turn fish waste to aquafeed

Afish farmer and processor in Idaho aims to convert raw fish guts into fish feed, a move that will not only make use of what is deemed as a “worthless waste product,” but also save him roughly 30 percent in feed costs.

Leo Ray, president and owner of Fish Breeders of Idaho, has invested in a $1-million “extruder” machine to produce the feed, reported Capital Press.

Fish Breeders raises about 1.5 million pounds per year of trout, sturgeon, tilapia and catfish. “Where we process our own fish, we’ve got that product here, and we’ve been giving it away (to mink farmers in the area),” Ray told the publication.

Corporate governance will not be affected, as important governance bodies such as the Board Audit Committee will remain, in addition to an adequate level of internal controls. We will also maintain the same strong focus on serving our US investor base as we have had in the past,” said Marine Harvest Chief Financial Officer Ivan Vindheim.

Meanwhile, the company reported on the same day that its 2016 operational earnings before interest taxes (ebit) reached an all-time high of $743 million (€700 million), compared to $368.3 million (€347 million) in 2015.

“2016 was a great year for Marine Harvest, with both record earnings and cash flow generation. I am very proud of the work all our colleagues have put in to achieve these results,” said CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog.

Leo Ray and grandson Coner Ray pose on top of a feed dryer. Right: the silos that will store the fish feed

Ray’s use of fish processing waste product as a key ingredient — valued at about $300,000 per year — in fish feed is believed to be the first in the industry. He said the result is a pellet that fish will more readily convert into body mass while producing less excrement.

The new machine reportedly works like a large meat

2016 was a great year for Marine Harvest, says CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog

grinder, generating temperatures through friction of up to 300 degrees to cook the feed. His mill will also use supplemental heat. Upon entering, the ingredients are saturated with moisture, which remains liquid under high pressure and instantly becomes steam, creating an expanded pellet when removed from pressure.

Ray said the feed can float in water and remains intact, allowing feeders to better assess how much their fish have consumed. Ray anticipates the extruder to start producing fish feed by the end of January and expects recouping his investment in about four years.

Alaska lawmaker pushes ban on sale of GM fish

Alaska legislator Chris Tuck (D) is pushing a bill prohibiting the sale of genetically modified (GM) fish or fish product.

House Bill 29 was introduced at the opening of the legislative session at the start of the year and is now in committee. Tuck co-sponsored the bill with Geran Tarr (D) and Les Gara (D).

Genetically modified AquaAdvantage salmon grows faster than conventional farmed salmon. A lawmaker in Alaska wants to ban the sale of GM fish Credit: Aquabounty

Massachusetts-based Aquabounty Technologies is currently the only source of genetically modified fish. The US Food and Drug Administration declared in February 2015 that Aquabounty’s salmon, called AquaAdvantage, as safe for human consumption. The agency however announced in February 2016 that it is banning the import of GM salmon until it issues the product labelling guidelines.

Credit: Fish Breeders of Idaho

Activated Glass Filtration medium or AFM is one of the company’s products Credit: Dryden Aqua

Dryden Aqua names North American distributor

Florida-based Aquatic Equipment Design has been appointed as distributor for Dryden Aqua’s filtration media in the North American market.

The bio-resistant Activated Glass Filtration medium, AFM, is known in the aquaculture industry for its 4m-filtration capacity and its total resistance to clogging or channelling, according to the company.

The firm expects the appointment of a distributor in North America to widen the market reach of its products. “There are a small number of facilities that are using Dryden Aqua products but uptake has been limited due to the lack of a North American distributor. In Aquatic Equipment Design, Dryden Aqua has now found a partner with the technical capability and knowledge necessary to advise on best use and to distribute these products,” said the company.

Sensor monitors water conditions in real time

Aquasend, a newly launched company based in San Diego, California, has released its first product that helps farmers monitor water quality in real time to optimize their production and efficiencies.

Called the aquaDOT alarm buoy, the sensor simultaneously monitors oxygen and temperature levels, analyzes the water and, if a problem is detected, sends an alert via WiFi or cellular service straight to a user’s mobile device, the company said.

The buoy is solar powered and features oxygen and temperature sensors with integrated anti-fouling wipers for long-lasting data collection.

Aquasend partnered with Precision Measurement Engineering Inc, a manufacturer of freshwater and oceanographic research devices, to ensure optimal sensor quality and stability.

“One of the many appeals of the aquaDOT is how relatively inexpensive it is compared to other buoys,” said Aquasend Founder and CEO Kristin Elliott. “We have been innovating this product for the aquaculture community for many years in response to industry demands, and are thrilled with the final product offering that requires minimal maintenance as well as decreases labor costs and power consumption.”

The company expects to officially release aquaDOT this summer.

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New employee? New product? Change of address? Industry Award? Other company news?

Submit 50 – 100 words and one image to our Content Manager, Deirdre at Deirdre@capamara.com

The portal gives users several tools when evaluating potential aquaculture coastal sites

Portal helps evaluate potential aquaculture sites

Managers, planners, and the industry at large will now have several tools at their disposal when evaluating potential aquaculture coastal sites, thanks to the Coastal Aquaculture Planning Portal (CAPP).

Aimed at supporting national aquaculture policies and coastal economies by enabling safe, sustainable domestic seafood production, the portal was developed by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in partnership with Digital Coast, a product of the NOAA National Ocean Service Office of Coastal Management.

Aquaculture planners will benefit from the many coastal planning tools, among them:

CanVis — helps managers and planners visualize seascape from various types of coastal development

Aquaculture Tanks for your every need!

• Our tanks are available in many colors, shapes and sizes from 25 to 3000 gallons

• Smooth inside surfaces prevent damage to your fish

• Edge lips provide wall strength & minimize deformation

We also offer Vertical Storage , Horizontal, Cone bottom, and General Purpose tanks- see our website for details.

Climate Wizard — helps explore how climate scenarios may affect the aquaculture industry and the community

CMECS Crosswalk Tool — classifies benthic habitat to assist with aquaculture siting

Coastal County Snapshots —turns complex data into easy-to-understand stories, complete with charts and graphs; and

Coastal Resilience Mapping Portal — maps a coastal county’s dependence on ocean and wetlands for a healthy economy to assess potential for aquaculture siting.

The portal can be found at www. coastalscience.noaa.gov/research/scem/ marine_aquaculture/portal

• Custom installation of optional drain fittings • FDA and UV sterilized 3

Rotomolding Plastic for the Future

aquaDOT monitors water quality 24/7

Credit: NCCOS

Variable-speed pump claimed to save up to 80 percent in energy use

Pentair has released a new product that it says could give aquaculture operators up to 80 percent in energy savings.

The Taurus VS Variable Speed Pumps cuts the energy costs of aquaculture applications that require up to a 1.5-HP pump. Electrical energy costs can be reduced by moving water more efficiently at lower speeds, said the company.

“Less work equals more savings when compared to conventional, single-speed pumps,” the company said.

According to Pentair, the product is suitable for a wide range of applications; automatically recognizes and adapts to 115- or 230-volt power, 50Hz or 60 Hz. It includes quick-connect union adaptors for 1.5” NPT plumbing; it has a simple, easy-touse digital control keypad; and has three programmable speeds, plus override capability, among others.

Cermaq names head of sales for North America

Cermaq has named Arild Aakre as head of sales for its North America division.

The company has sales offices, including marketing and business development support, in Vancouver and Miami.

“I am thrilled to be part of our commercial team in North America and continue our work to build strong long-term relationship with customers. Cermaq, as the second biggest salmonide producer in the world, should have a more significant role in the world’s biggest salmon market. I am looking forward to contributing to that,” says Aakre.

Aakre has extensive experience in sales and marketing, said the company. He currently holds the position as Business Development Director Europe for Cermaq, and was formerly Global Marketing and Business Development Director of Marine Harvest. He joined Cermaq in February 2016.

He will continue his work with strategic customers in Europe, the company said.

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Arild Aakre

Villaroel leaves Cermaq

Fernando Villarroel, COO of Cermaq Canada, is leaving the company at the end of April to return to Chile.

The company announced that Villarroel has decided to return to Chile after working abroad for 10 years.

“It is with regret that I have accepted the resignation from Fernando Villarroel,” says CEO Geir Molvik. “Fernando has been with Cermaq for 19 years and has been very important for the company, not only in Canada but also for the global operations.”

Villaroel said leaving the company was one of the most difficult decisions of his professional career. “But as a family we have decided that it is time to return to

Extru-Tech reels

Chile. I leave Cermaq at a point when the operations in Canada are sound, there is a strong organization in place and the results are the best ever,” he said.

in aquaculture specialist from retirement

Dana Nelson has recently joined extrusion processing systems manufacturer, Extru-Tech Inc, as an aquaculture specialist based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Nelson was one of three owner partners in Nelson & Son’s Inc, the original developers and producers of Silver Cup Feeds. After selling the company to Skretting USA in 2008, Nelson continued to work for Skretting for the next five years as production manager and, ultimately, project manager, before retiring from the company in 2012.

The position with Extru-Tech marks Nelson’s return to the aquaculture industry. He will assist customers with the use of Extru-Tech equipment in the production of a wide variety of aquatic feeds.

“I am quite passionate about aquaculture in general and process equipment specifically,” says Nelson. “I truly am returning to work because I miss these things and Extru-Tech is a great fit for doing this. I truly hope I can add value to this relationship,” he said.

New faculty member at UAPB Aquaculture/Fisheries Center

he Aquaculture/Fisheries Center of Excellence at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has appointed Dr Grace Theresa Nicholas Ramena as assistant professor of fish pathology.

TIn this position she will develop a productive research program including both biotechnological and applied aspects of fish health issues that provide more effective diagnosis, treatment and prevention of fish health problems, the university said.

In addition to overseeing the fish disease diagnostics at the UAPB location, Dr Ramena will participate in fish inspections as needed for certifications; contribute to Extension educational programs focused on fish health and biosecurity; and teach a graduate course in fish health and an undergraduate course in fish biology.

Dr Grace Theresa Nicholas Ramena

Prior to joining UAPB, Dr Ramena was a post-doctoral research associate in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine. In India, she had five years’ experience working in a fish/shrimp health clinic, where she provided technical assistance to commercial fish farmers and went on farm visits. “The fish farmers were very impressed by Dr Ramena and so were our students,” said Dr Rebecca Lochmann, interim chair of the UAPB Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries. “We are looking forward to a very productive fish health research program under her direction.”

Fernando Villarroel

Dana Nelson

EVENTS

MARCH

World Aquaculture

June

Cape Town International Convention Centre Cape Town, South Africa

The Annual International Conference & Exposition of World Aquaculture Society

Hosted by Aquaculture Association of Southern Africa Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa

Associate Sponsors Aquaculture Engineering Society

For More Information Contact: Conference Manager

P.O. Box 2302 | Valley Center,

March 3-4, Wisconsin Aquaculture Conference, Marshfield, WI

March 6-10, Offshore Mariculture Conference, Baja, Mexico, www.offshoremariculture.com

March 19-21, Seafood Expo North America, Boston, MA, www.seafoodexpo.com

March 20-24, Giant Prawn 2017, Bangkok, Thailand, www.giantprawn.org

March 26-30, National Shellfisheries Association Meeting, Knoxville, TN, www.shellfish.org

March 29-April 1, Salmonid Restoration Conference, Davis, CA www.calsalmon.org

APRIL

April 10-12, AquaME, Dubai, UAE, www.aqua-middleeast.com

April 25-27, Seafood Expo Global, Brussels, Belgium, www.seafoodexpo.com

MAY

May 20- 24, International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine, Cancun, Mexico. www.iaaam.org

May 28-31, Aquaculture Canada and Sea Farmers Conference and Tradeshow 2017, Halifax, NS, www.aquacultureassociation.ca

JUNE

June 5-7, SeaWeb Seafood Summit, Seattle, WA, www.seafoodsummit.org

June 6-8, National Aquaculture Extension Conference, Boise, Idaho

June 26-30, World Aquaculture 2017, Cape Town, South Africa, www.was.org

JULY

July 12-16, Annual Larval Fish Conference, Austin, Texas

July 16-20, World Recreational Fishing Conference, Victoria, BC, Canada, www. wrfc8.com

July 24-27, Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2017, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia www.was.org

deirdre@capamara.com

Dep

Aquaflor® is now approved for use in all freshwater-reared finfish at dose rates of up to 15 mg/kg*. I t ’s cleared for use in recirculating aquaculture systems, too.

S o whether you raise trout, tilapia, bass, c atfish or even baitfish or ornamentals, you can turn to Aquaflor for managing the toughest bac terial diseases of farm-raised fish.*

For the full stor y, call our fish-health specialist, K asha Cox, at 662.907.0692 or visit our new website at Aquaflor-USA.com.

It just keeps getting better A Q U AF L O R ®

( or fenicol) T

* In the USA, Aquaflor is approved for use at 10-15 mg/kg in freshwater-reared salmonids for the control of mor tality due to furunculosis associated with Aeromonas salmonicida and coldwater disease associated with Flavobacterium psychrophilum; in catfish for the control of mor tality due to enteric septicemia of catfish associated with Edwardsiella ictaluri; and in all freshwater-reared finfish for the control of mor tality due to columnaris disease associated with Flavobacterium columnare At 15 mg/kg, Aquaflor is also approved in freshwater-reared warmwater finfish for the control of mor tality due to streptococcal septicemia associated with Streptococcus iniae. LABEL CLAIMS NOT APPROVED IN CANADA.

CAUTION: Federal law restricts medicated feed containing this veterinary feed directive (VFD) drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.

© 2015 Inter vet Inc., doing business as Merck Animal Health, a subsidiar y of Merck & Co Inc All rights reser ved MAH-AQF-38