March, April 2021 by annexbusinessmedia

MAJOR SETBACK

BC SALMON INDUSTRY ON EDGE

British Columbians relying on the farmed salmon industry for their livelihood are alarmed at Canada’s decision to phase out 19 farms in the province. Frustrated town mayors speak out on behalf of their communities P. 8

FARMING TECH

RAS for oysters?

Why not. USDA is backing a Maine company that’s pioneering the science of shellfish production using recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) technology P. 14

BIVALVES

National shellfish outlook

Growers in Canada are improving harvesting processes while minimizing their operations’ impact on the environment. Industry and scientists collaborate to boost shellfish health and lifecycle P. 22

SEA URCHINS

New industry shaping up

New England’s cool waters are ideal for raising sea urchins. Local farmers race to cash in on Japan’s hunger for the highvalue crop P. 32

The success of APEX-IHN® vaccination programs has meant that the risk of IHN is not often spoken about, and yet the potential threat of infection from wild fish remains ever present.

Don’t let IHN become the ‘elephant in the room’, keep protecting your salmon, and your profits, with APEX-IHN®.

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FROM THE EDITOR

Ripple effects

On January 20, I had the opportunity to speak with mayors of ﬁve British Columbia communities impacted by Canada’s decision to phase out the salmon farms in the Discovery Islands. The mayors of Campbell River, Port McNeill, Gold River, Port Hardy and the Village of Sayward are ﬁghting for their coastal towns and the lives of real people. People like 24-year-old Kaitlin Guitard, a sea site water-quality technician at Mowi, pictured on the cover of this issue. Like the hundreds of British Columbians relying on the industry for their livelihood, Kaitlin wonders if she’ll still have a job in 18 months. But more than the economic losses, the Vancouver Island mayors worry about the human toll of the farms’ closures. Livelihood is vital for sustaining community wellbeing. Loss of livelihood, especially in the middle of a global pandemic, would be tragic. Communities need these stable, long-term employment opportunities if they are to continue to prosper. Good jobs

ADVERTISERS' INDEX

BY LIZA MAYER

have to be available for their young or these communities will slowly die and eventually become impoverished wards of the state. The mayors were caught off guard by the haste at which Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan appeared to have arrived at the decision. They were also left out of the consultation process. In a letter to Minister Jordan, they pointed out the ripple effects of this decision. They are asking that she reassess it, give them the opportunity for input, and give the salmon farmers enough time to decide what to do with the millions of ﬁsh intended for some of the farms that will be shut down. They want clarity: What is the oft-quoted “transition plan”? What’s the time frame? Throwing money at the problem isn’t going to cut it, they say. They want full-time, year-round, career-building, lifetime employment with a living wage for their people. They hope the Minister is listening.

COVER PHOTO: KAITLIN GUITARD

Grieg Seafood of Norway says farming in the seas will remain at the industry’s core but land-based farming will play a supporting role

Grieg Seafood enters RAS space Company recognizes land-based farming will play a supporting role

Grieg Seafood has become the first major salmon producer to go into RAS salmon growout.

The Norwegian salmon farmer announced at the start of the year that it has invested in a new land-based salmon producer called Årdal Aqua. The company will produce post-smolt Atlantic salmon using RAS (recirculating aquaculture systems) and, eventually, grow them all the way to market size.

A new land-based facility in Rogaland in Southern Norway will be built this fall for this purpose. It is designed to have 5,000-tonne capacity, but there’s potential to expand that. Initial production target is 3,000 tonnes annually.

Grieg Seafood sees its investment into the new company as a way to learn and refine RAS technology for salmon growouts because RAS is still rife with technological and financial risks.

“We are working hard to improve biology and fish welfare, and to reduce our impact,” said Andreas Kvame, CEO of Grieg Seafood and Chair of Årdal Aqua.

“For a long time, we have invested in

post-smolt, where we keep the fish longer on land before we release it into the sea, as an important part of the solution. With Årdal Aqua we will be able to develop this farming method further. We aim for all of our fish in Rogaland to spend less than one year in the sea.”

Kvame sees a future where RAS technology complements other fish farming technologies. He said ocean-based fish farming will remain the main component of the aquaculture industry but land-based farming will be a “great supplement.”

“We look forward to taking part in the development of this technology. What we know for sure is that the world will need a lot more healthy and nutritious food with the lowest possible impact,” he said.

Grieg Seafood owns one-third of Årdal Aqua; other co-owners also with one-third share each are the smolt and post-smolt company Vest Havbruk, and Stavanger-based investor group Omfar.

The company said it will release information about the investment cost when the design development phase is completed. It estimates an investment cost of $14.27 per kg (NOK120/kg).

Biden urged to make local seafood production a priority

The Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) movement is urging US President Joe Biden to prioritize domestic seafood production.

In a letter to Biden, SATS asked that aquaculture be included as part of his administration’s oceans and climate policies “to build back a stronger, more resilient America.”

“Aquaculture presents a unique opportunity to build an American seafood future that can bring us through this challenging time and support a diverse workforce, enhance sustainable ecosystems, and guarantee healthful, locally-sourced protein for American consumers,” the group wrote.

“As America begins to rebuild from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing America’s seafood supply through aquaculture will have benevolent rippling effects throughout many areas of the country. Increased aquaculture production will increase demand for American-grown crops, such as soybeans, corn and peas, which can be used in fish feed, and will open up new markets to heartland farmers while lessening dependence on the uncertainty of foreign trade relationships.”

Founded in 2018, the industry coalition includes players in the aquaculture industry, such as Cargill, Pacific Seafoods, High Liner Foods, Innovasea, Blue Ocean Mariculture, and Pacifico Aquaculture.

PHOTO:

GRIEG SEAFOOD

PHOTOS: ADOBE STOCK

Fish-free

tilapia feed breakthrough

Faster growth, better FCR worth the slightly higher production costs, say inventors

Scientists at the University of California-Santa Cruz have developed a fish-free feed for tilapia that has shown extensive gains in sustainability, performance, and economic viability.

Instead of fishmeal, the feed uses whole cells from a marine microalgae called Schizochytrium sp. A second ingredient is a protein-rich byproduct derived from a microalgae called Nannochloropsis oculata after the oil, which is used in commercial Omega-3 dietary supplements, has been extracted from it.

“This is an important breakthrough and first proof of concept developing a fish-free feed for tilapia by combining microalgae. This is a potential game changer for shifting aquaculture to more sustainable practices,” said lead author

Pallab Sarker, an associate research professor in environmental studies at UCSC.

He said the tilapia feed is economically viable. “Although fish-free feed cost of $0.68/ kg feed is slightly more expensive compared to conventional feed’s cost of $0.64/kg feed, the economic conversion ratio (feed cost per kg tilapia production) of the fish-free feed ($0.95/kg tilapia) was less than that of the conventional diet ($1.03/kg tilapia) because the tilapia fed on the fish-free diet grew faster with better feed conversation ratio,” he explained.

He and his co-investigator Professor Anne Kapuscinski, a sustainability science and policy expert at UCSC, have already applied for a patent for the feed.

“We hope to work with industry stakeholders and sustainable aquaculture entrepreneurs to bring it to market. We are optimistic about the potential commercial implication of the invention to help expand sustainable economic opportunities for the aquafeed industry and farmed fish producers in the world,” said Sarker.

He acknowledged however that a major challenge is generating consistency in supply of the microalgal ingredients in order to produce quantities on an industrial scale.

A startup called Verdant Seas, which Sarker co-founded, will conduct the commercial trials of the fish-free tilapia feed. Verdant Seas’ mission is to “design blends of marine microalgae to create superior performing aquaculture feeds for tilapia,” according to its website.

The economic conversion ratio of the fish-free feed was $0.95/kg tilapia compared to $1.03 in conventional diet

PHOTO: ©THAMRONG / ADOBE STOCK

US seafood player to acquire BC RAS farmer

Years of hard work and dedication to prove that RAS technology works in small- to medium-sized farms are finally paying off for Steve Atkinson, founder and president of one of British Columbia’s Taste of BC Aquafarms.

Since July 2020, the 100-tonne-capacity land-based steelhead farm has been seeing consistent weekly harvests of 2 tonnes of steelhead weighing upwards of 2kg each.

Now, Miami, Florida-based seafood processing company Blue Star Foods Corp is interested in acquiring Taste of BC Aquafarms. Atkinson and Blue Star Foods have signed a term sheet, subject to certain closing conditions.

“We are very thrilled to partner with the Atkinson family, the founders and operators of Taste of BC Aquafarms, who have been pioneers in RAS farming since 2010. They’ve built a proven and scalable model and we are excited to strategically fund their next level of growth and use our sales platform to market their delicious, sashimi-grade, Steelhead Salmon,” said Blue Star Foods Chairman and CEO, John Keeler.

Yellowtail amberjack created from fish cells then cooked in four ways demonstrated its commercial readiness, said BlueNalu PHOTO: BLUENALU

Lab-grown seafood products to debut in US market this year

A US startup pioneering a technique of producing labgrown seafood products said it expects to introduce a wide variety of cell-based seafood products from its pilot production facility in California this year, starting with mahi mahi, followed by bluefin tuna.

BlueNalu produces whole muscle, cell-based seafood products in the laboratory. “Living cells are isolated from fish tissue, placed into culture media for proliferation, and then assembled into great-tasting fresh and frozen seafood products,” it said on its website.

In January, it secured $60 million in financing, which will fund the next phase of the company’s commercialization plans.

With the help of black soldier fly (inset), Enterra’s facility in Alberta, Canada recycles 130 tonnes of food waste per day and turns it into 10 tonnes of high-protein feed ingredient

Insect-based feed ingredient producer bags $6M grant

A British Columbia company that produces salmonid feed ingredient derived from black soldier fly larvae is scaling up production at its first manufacturing facility with the help of a $6M grant from the federal government.

Enterra Feed Corporation, headquartered in Maple Ridge, BC, made history in 2017 when its insect-based aquaculture feed ingredient became the first of its kind to be approved for the Canadian market.

The company opened its first commercial-scale production facility a year ago in Rocky View County, a municipal district in Alberta, Canada, and has since closed its small-scale production facility in Langley, BC.

The $6-million grant will outfit the 17,500-square-metre production facility with specialized handling equipment and robotics, said Bruce Jowett, director of marketing at Enterra.

“We are at a place where we feel we will reach our full production of 4,000 tonnes by the second quarter of this year,” he said.

Jowett said Enterra is one of only two suppliers of fly larvae as ingredient for salmonid feed in North America, but it is the only one with a production facility in the region.

The company is planning a second manufacturing facility, in Columbus, Ohio, but the pandemic has put the commissioning of that facility on hold. “The building is there, we’re doing all the engineering but our technical people and our entomology experts could not travel down to the United States right now,” said Jowett.

PHOTO: ENTERRA FEED CORP

Fish is crucial to food security, but why do policymakers ignore it?

/ BY LIZA MAYER

Scientists and policy experts say fish is largely missing in key global food policy discussions and decision-making because policymakers view fish predominantly as “just a natural resource that provides income and livelihoods.”

The group said fish should instead be viewed as food – and a critical source of unparalleled nutrition at that – so it could move to the front and center of policy discussions.

“Fish has always been food. But in this paper, we lay out an agenda for enhancing the role of fish in addressing hunger and malnutrition,” says Abigail Bennett, assistant professor in the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University.

In the paper titled: “Recognize fish as food in policy discourse and development funding,” Bennett and fellow scientists and policy experts from Duke University, Harvard University, World Bank and Environmental Defense Fund, say that as a result of fish being overlooked, fish is underrepresented in international development funding priorities, including even the World Bank.

They also say that the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger, does not mention fisheries or aquaculture by name, nor does it offer specific guidance on fish production systems.

The paper identifies four pillars of suggested action to begin framing fish as food, not just a natural resource:

1.

Improve metrics. There are few metrics to assess and communicate the contributions of fish to food and nutrition security. Governments and researchers can collaborate to develop better tools to raise the profile of fish in broader food and nutrition security policies and investment priorities.

3.

Govern distribution. Availability, access and stability are key features of food and nutrition security. Even though fish is one of the most traded food commodities in the world, there is limited information about its distribution and links to nutrition security. There is also a need to promote equitable distribution of capital and property rights to access fisheries, particularly that recognize the importance of small-scale fisheries and roles women play in fishing and aquaculture sectors.

Promote nutrition-sensitive fish food systems. Current management regimes emphasize the “maximum sustainable yield” for a given fishery. Managing for “optimal nutritional yield” would focus on not just rebuilding and conserving fish populations – an important goal in and of itself – but also on sustainably managing nutrient-rich fisheries.

4.

“Fish as food” framing. Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture are key to feeding the world and alleviating malnutrition, and already provide valuable nutrition and livelihood contributions. Including a nutrition lens when illustrating the multiple benefits of sustainable fisheries production can help to elevate the importance and impact of fish as a key component of the global food system and to ensure that we do not fall behind in global food security targets.

A salmon industry analyst says this uncertainty could make the east coast of Canada, as well as Norway, more attractive as destinations for investments.

‘WE’RE IN A PANIC MODE’

Frustrated and angry, mayors of five BC

coastal

towns

say decision is a defeat for science, food security and job creation in rural areas

BY LIZA MAYER

There was no shortage of grim news for Port McNeill Mayor Gabriele Wickstrom. Her town of 2,200 people has just come out of a months-long, financially devastating forestry strike in February 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, dimming hopes of economic recovery.

Wickstrom estimates that roughly 80 percent of Port McNeill’s population depends on

British Columbia’s $7-billion forestry sector for their livelihood. Others rely on the province’s $1.6-billion salmon aquaculture industry.

On December 17, BC’s salmon farming community received bad news: the 19 fish farms in the Discovery Islands will be phased out over the next 18 months because the indigenous communities where those farms are located don’t want them there, said Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Minister Bernadette Jordan.

The Discovery Islands is an archipelago near Campbell River, the town where almost one-quarter of BC’s aquaculture workforce is based. Three of the world’s leading aquaculture companies – Mowi, Cermaq and Grieg Seafood – have their North American head offices there. The town is also home to two small independent farms, Yellow Island Aquaculture and Salt Stream Aquaculture.

The three global players have some farms in the Discovery Islands: Mowi’s 15 farms account for 30 percent of its annual harvest in BC; Cermaq’s three account for 20 percent of its Canadian production; and Grieg Seafood has one, accounting for 12 percent of its total harvest biomass.

None of those salmon farms are in Port McNeill but the news isn’t any less troubling for Wickstrom. She says the economic benefit that trickles down to neighboring communities like hers – and the losses if the closures move ahead – underscore the magnitude of this decision.

“There’s not a lot of people directly employed in aquaculture but there are a lot of spin-off businesses. In fiscal 2019, Cermaq spent just over $3 million with about 20 individual businesses and contractors in our community. That is just Cermaq, which actually has a smaller footprint than Mowi, so I would say that figure could easily be doubled, maybe even almost tripled,” the mayor says.

Wickstrom is one of five mayors in the North Island region of Vancouver Island who now question their community’s future, especially in a global pandemic.

Like Port McNeill, the Village of Sayward depends mainly on logging. Eleven of the village’s 300 residents work in aquaculture. As important as the jobs are the industry’s

PHOTO: CERMAQ CANADA

contributions in helping Sayward thrive as a community, says Mayor Mark Baker.

Over the past decade, he says Mowi has contributed $407,000 to the local nonprofit that manages and maintains The Wharf at Kelsey Bay. The salmon producer spent more than $200,000 with local contractors in 20192020, and for years has provided generous supply of salmon during community events, such as Canada Day celebrations, the RCMP bike rodeo and Christmas dinners.

“I know the money doesn’t sound like a lot but given that we have just over 300 people in our community, it is a lot of money,” says Baker.

A defeat for science

“The announcement caught us completely off guard,” says Campbell River Mayor Andy Adams. “It was completely irresponsible and completely contrary to the latest Cohen Commission and very self-serving.”

The Cohen Commission was established in 2009 to address concerns that salmon farms are impacting the wild salmon population in BC’s Fraser River. One of the Commission’s recommendations was to abolish the 19 farms – which are on a salmon migration route in the Discovery Islands – by September 2020, unless there’s proof they pose only a “minimum risk of serious harm to the heath of migrating Fraser River salmon.”

Results of DFO’s own scientific assessment, released this past September, showed the farms present only “minimal risk” to wild Fraser River salmon stocks.

This kind of stipulation from the DFO is one of two new requirements that applicants for new fish farm licences – and renewals of existing ones – must comply with beginning June 2022. The second criterion is consent from local First Nations in whose traditional territories the farm sites are located.

DFO said it consulted with the seven indigenous communities – the Homalco,

Klahoose, K’ómoks, Kwaikah, Tla’amin, We Wai Kai and Wei Wai Kum – in the Discovery Islands in making the decision. When asked by this publication whether consent from indigenous communities trumps science when it comes to policy decisions, Minister Jordan’s Office refused to comment, citing the judicial review of the Minister’s decision filed by Mowi and Cermaq last January.

“I can’t speak enough as to how disappointed we are that the Minister made the decision without taking into consideration the findings of that report,” says Adams.

Uncertainty could

blunt BC’s edge

The lack of clarity around how the DFO Minister weighs her policy decisions could affect investments into the salmon industry in BC, where the federal government/DFO is the primary regulator (provincial governments are otherwise the primary regulators in other provinces).

A study by consultancy firm RIAS Inc says that salmon farmers in BC are willing to invest $1.4 billion in innovation, new technology, and

infrastructure through 2050 if the Canadian federal and provincial governments are able to provide a “predictable policy approach.”

The DFO decision is incompatible with that and raises more questions: “If the federal government along with our Member of Parliament locally are adamant to remove fish farms from the west coast of Canada, does that also pose a threat to all the fish farming and aquaculture industry in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as the rest of the east coast? And are they driving the industry out of the country completely?” asked Adams.

Adams may be justified for asking those questions because the Discover Islands farms’ phase-out echoes a decision made in December 2018 over 17 salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago in BC. In that move, the BC provincial government and the three First Nations in the Broughtons decided to not renew the leases of 17 salmon farms owned by Mowi and Cermaq. Ten of the farms will cease operations by the end of 2022, while the rest could continue if First Nations-industry agreements and valid DFO licences are in place by 2023.

A salmon industry analyst says this uncertainty could make the east coast of Canada, as well as Norway, more attractive as destinations for investments.

“I think that the companies in Canada are now more eager to grow on the east coast rather than west,” says analyst Christian Olsen Nordby of the European financial services and research firm, Kepler Cheuvreux.

“We have seen that Mowi for example will fight the decision, and they can’t be happy about losing 10,000-12,000 tonnes. Canada has had relatively high costs for a while now and combined with low salmon prices during COVID-19, profitability has been weak. That doesn’t automatically make closed-containment farming extremely attractive because it is expensive. So I understand that the farmers now want to grow volumes on the east coast.”

BC aquaculture tech firm secures fund to facilitate growth

Poseidon Ocean Systems of British Columbia has received $3.9-million (C$5 million) investment from Ontario private equity fund Ag Capital Canada, which it will use to advance engineering and product delivery.

Among these products are the company’s new proprietary technologies Trident Hybrid Steel Cage System and Flowpresso compressor system.

The Trident cage technology has been in development since 2017. Company co-founder Matt Clarke calls it a “ generational leap in fish farm structural design.” Among its attributes are its strength that’s claimed to be up to twice that of existing designs and its ability to handle maximum wave heights of more than six meters.

John Lansink, managing partner at Ag Capital Canada, was impressed at the “amazing” speed at how Poseidon brought technologies to market. “We were able to check all the boxes with this investment. The company is in a growth position, ready to capitalize on a macro trend to meet global protein demand.”

Poseidon expects an additional follow-on investment from Export Development Canada.

The decision to phase out the 19 farms in the Discover Islands will put at risk 1,500 jobs in the province FILE PHOTO

Matt Clarke and wife Heather co-founded Poseidon Ocean Systems in 2015 to deliver products that improve the efficiency of salmon farming operations

He says this will lead to lower total production growth from Canada and more investments directed towards Norway.

“Norway has a more stable growth regime and offshore farming appears more interesting for several farmers rather than geographical expansion. Also land based and post-smolt seems more interesting for many farmers given the relatively low stability from the Canadian government, combined with the relatively high costs in Canada,” Nordby says.

‘Hear us’

Minister Jordan’s Office has neither made any statement nor responded to the countless open letters from the industry and the community asking her to reassess the decision.

“It’s nice to have communication with the seven First Nations (in the Discovery Islands). But there was no consultation, no discussion, with us as the leaders of our communities. We need to be part of the equation in discussions. It’s too important to our livelihoods in our communities,” said Mayor Brad Unger of

Gold River, where Grieg Seafood has been operating a hatchery for the past 20 years.

The hatchery on a former mill site employs 24 employees full-time, including First Nations, says Unger. “They just did a $20M to 25M upgrade of their facilities. On the farm site, there’s 20-plus people working there -full-time jobs, pension jobs, career jobs.”

Unger estimates that Grieg Seafood’s longterm agreement with the village of Gold River brings in tax dollars of between $80,000 and $100,000 a year. “For a small community of 1,300 people, that’s huge,” he says. “That is what keeps our arena, our pool, our recreation facilities going for our community. We’ll lose that, we’re in trouble.”

Mayor Wickstrom says resource-rich regions and communities continually find themselves in a position where municipalities are not included in the conversation, only to be “left picking up the pieces” afterwards.

“We know that in the resource industry things evolve. We understand that, we knew the parameters around that or at least

WAITING FOR ANSWERS

Kaitlin Guitard would be the first to admit that her job as a water quality technician at a sea site farm isn’t a walk in the park. Exposure to all types of weather conditions is the norm, and “whether it’s wind gusts of a hundred km/hr or it’s raining and snowing, you’ve got to have that drive to be able to get out there every single day,” says the 24-year-old.

Kaitlin Guitard, water quality technician at Mowi, wonders what the future holds for her and the hundreds of British Columbians relying on the farmed salmon industry

Still, she considers working at Mowi’s farm on Larsen Island in British Columbia “the best move” she’s made. More than the occasional sightings of dolphins, humpback whales or orcas that are part of the milieu, she says it’s the opportunity to do her part in creating a sustainable food future that resonates with her the most.

“When I was earning my degree in agriculture I learned about sustainable food production. That, and my love of animals, was my main reason for getting into aquaculture,” says the New Brunswick native.

Since moving to British Columbia two years ago, she has immersed herself not just in the province’s beautiful raw outdoors, but also in her coastal community.

“My whole life is this industry, at work and in my personal life. All of the connections that I’ve made, all of the friends that I’ve made are in this community. This is my life now.”

She now feels this stability is threatened by the Canadian Government’s decision to phase out 19 farms in the Discovery Islands in BC. While the farm site where Guitard works is not in the Discovery Islands, it is part of the salmon industry supply chain.

She explained that her worksite is a “specialized nursery.” “We get the fish as soon as they turn into smolts and we grow them until they’re about 500 grams, then we send the fish off to a larger farm where they will grow until

we thought we knew what was going to be happening with aquaculture around the Discovery Islands, but when things change, and change very quickly, it gives us no opportunity to be part of the discussion to even talk about what transition could be like. So when a politician comes in afterwards and talks about ‘transition,’ they’re really only talking about throwing money at the situation.

“We actually want to be part of the conversation that in the long term will save everyone money, and that’s the frustration for us. This is the template that we want to try to lay moving forward for all of our resources: forestry, aquaculture, mining. This continually happens in the province and municipalities are left to pick up the pieces when they’re not included,” says Wickstrom.

Adams emphasized that mayors have direct contact with the communities and therefore know first-hand when people lose their jobs or businesses shutter.

“We, collectively as mayors, are on the frontline hearing (our constituents) and

they’re harvested. With us not having a site to send our fish to, we are could be forced into an early closure ourselves.”

“When I heard the news, I was concerned not only about those farms in the Discovery Islands and their employees, but all of our other operations and the employees in those operations. It’s going to have a huge ripple effect on all other areas of production for the company that I work for and for the our neighboring salmon companies as well,” she said.

“This industry is one of the last of its kind on the island that’s providing secure employment, providing all of the things that it does for individuals for local vendors,” she added.

She joins the 1,500 British Columbians directly relying on the farmed salmon industry for their livelihood in urging the federal government to reassess the decision.

“Why has all of the research and the science that has been done in the last little bit been disregarded?” she wants to ask Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Minister Bernadette Jordan.

“We as farmers and our hard work and our transparency have been disregarded here. And how come we haven’t heard a response yet? I know these things take time, but there are a lot of jobs on the line. There are a lot of families on the line right now and it just it feels like we’re really just kind of ignored.”

this isn’t just our municipal communities. This includes the First Nation communities throughout the North Island because there are a significant number of employees from those First Nation communities that are also going to be personally, mentally, physically and financially impacted,” he says.

Mayor Dennis Dugas of Port Hardy says he and his fellow mayors are “not against reconciliation with indigenous nations and not against wild salmon.”

“None of us here in our communities are against wild salmon,” he says. “Wild salmon are a big part of who we are but the fish farm industry can provide income and jobs 12

months a year, which fisheries cannot. We want sustainable income for our people. They get good wages from fish farming to support their families. They get benefits that a lot of other smaller companies can’t afford to give: medical services, a pension plan.”

Around 280 Port Hardy residents working at Mowi fish farms and its processing plant in town will be impacted by the phase-out, as will another 50 employed at Hardy Buoys Smoked Fish, which processes Mowi’s harvest, and the 30 that work at Badinotti Net Services Canada, says Dugas.

The boat services operators that transport the fish from the farms to the processing

Next Generation Spawning

•

plant, the crew transport boats that ferry fish farm employees to the farm sites and back, and the mom-and-pop catering businesses and grocers whose livelihoods rely on feeding these workers, would also be impacted.

“Some people ask me: ‘why are you fighting for the fish farming industry?’ Because I’m fighting for 400 people in my community, that’s why!” he says.

“We’re in a panic mode up here,” Dugas continues. “The companies are in a panic mode, as are the people that work in the industry because they don’t know what tomorrow holds. We’re going to create ourselves a situation where social assistance is handed out until they could do something else. Is that the kind of communities that we want to build?”

The mayors say more needs to be done if rural communities are to have a chance of moving forward.

“Just to say that ‘there’s going to be a transition plan’ is not enough. What is that? What’s the time frame for it? Just cutting checks and handing them out isn’t going to cut it,” says Adams.

“We are reaching out to whoever is open to listen or have open dialogue. That’s what we’re trying to do: to try and find out what’s the real end game here.”

SOURCE: BCSFA’S ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF B.C.’S FARM-RAISED SALMON, SEPTEMBER 2016

Farm-raised salmon is greener than chicken, beef

Amidst the debate on salmon aquaculture in BC, science-backed data showing the sustainability of BC farmed salmon is sometimes ignored or forgotten. We reprint results of a 2016 study

Salmon raised in the ocean have the lowest overall cost to the environment, says a research on consumers’ most common protein choices. The research, prepared for the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) by Ottawa-based RIAS Inc, looked at the production of salmon versus other major proteins in terms of energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication potential, water use and land use.

Results indicate that BC farm-raised salmon is 24-percent less costly to the environment than chicken, while beef has a cost that’s 500-percent greater than salmon raised in an ocean environment.

The study used a life-cycle analysis (LCA), defined by the United Nations Environmental Programme as “a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental aspects of a product or service system through all stages of its life cycle.”

“Health professionals agree that salmon is by far the most healthy protein choice for people to eat, this study shows it’s also the most healthy protein for our planet,” said Jeremy Dunn, who was the executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association when the study came out. “With the world population estimated by the United Nations to grow by over 2 billion by 2050, governments must consider the full environmental costs of the food we grow and eat.”

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FAST FACTS

Farm-raised salmon ($0.59/kg) has the lowest overall environmental cost of any of the major protein options available to consumers today.

Farm-raised salmon is 24-percent less costly to the environment than chicken ($0.73/kg) to almost 500-percent less costly to the environment than beef ($3.45/kg).

GHG Emissions. Farm-raised salmon produces less GHG emissions than any commercially raised food animal.

Water Use. Farm-raised salmon was found to have consistently lower water use than other types of animal farming, using only a small fraction of the water compared to other species.

Energy Use. Over 90 percent of cumulative energy use for farm-raised salmon is from feed production. Overall, the evidence indicates that the life-cycle energy intensity for farmraised salmon is better than beef.

Land Use. Overall, studies have found that production of feed for farm-raised salmon requires much less land than used in the production of most other species. Over 90 percent of land use for farm-raised salmon is from feed production.

Eutrophication Potential. Evidence suggests that farm-raised salmon has lower potential for eutrophication (defined as the depletion of oxygen in a water body, which kills aquatic animals) than beef.

Salmon is the most efficient of all commercially raised farm-fed animals in converting feed into a kilogram of body weight, an important metric when assessing the sustainability of a food animal production system. Farm-raised salmon has an average feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 1.2:1 compared to chicken at 1.7:1 and beef which can be as high as 9.1:1 – close to 10 times less efficient than salmon.

BCSFA Members produce 75,000 MT of salmon, or about 95 percent of the total provincial harvest of farm-raised salmon.

Source:BCSFA,2016

EU scientists discover higher-value byproducts made from fish waste

Residual fish products that European Union scientists converted into oils, proteins and solids, which they then combined with bacterial strains from the Artic seabed have resulted into “new molecules” that have the potential to be turned into highly valuable raw materials.

The discovery is the latest in the EU-funded research project that’s investigating ways to add value to fish byproducts to reduce waste and enhance the seafood industry’s sustainability.

The researchers said that while fish byproducts, such as offcuts, skin and bones, are already being used in fish oils, fish meal and animal feed, they are worth only $.33 cents/kg on average. Byproducts that could be applied in products fit for human consumption would be worth much higher, they said.

Of the roughy 20 molecules created from the bacteria-residual raw materials combo, one is widely used by pharmaceutical companies in both blood pressure and allergy medications and is valued at $1,000 per gram (NOK 8500) per gram, said Nofima. Scientists from the esteemed research institution lead the project, along with colleagues

“The way forward for the scientists now is about developing the discoveries they have already made. Perhaps in a few years, both new companies and new jobs will have been created as a result of these findings.

Nets, Design, Construction, Service, HDPE Cages, Moorings and Shellﬁsh Gear

from UiT – the Arctic University of Norway.

“The way forward for the scientists now is about developing the discoveries they have already made. Perhaps in a few years, both new companies and new jobs will have been created as a result of these findings,” Nofima said.

EU scientists see potential for high value creation from fish waste. (L-R) Scientist Jan Arne Arnesen and Principal Engineer Kjersti Lian of Nofima, and Professor Peik Haugen of UiT PHOTO: RUNE STOLTZ

OYSTER CULTURE: the newest frontier in agribusiness

USDA backs venture exploring year-round shellfish production using recirculating

aquaculture system

BY LYNN FANTOM

In a building that looks like a solar-powered Quonset hut, the award-winning marine biologist Tap Pryor, one of the commissioners who founded NOAA, is pioneering a non-coastal system to grow Eastern oysters year-round using recirculating aquaculture systems technology.

Maine Shellfish Developers (MSD), founded in 2016 by Pryor and his son, expects production on a pilot scale this spring that will propel progress developing “the newest terrestrial crop,” he says.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) apparently agrees there’s potential in those tanks at Waldoboro Business Park in Maine. The agency has supported exploration of this new frontier in agribusiness with two Small Business Innovation Research grants totaling $750,000. The Maine Technology Institute was also an early backer.

At the beginning of 2020, MSD moved to the new inland location after a three-year

“proof of concept” period at the Darling Marine Center, the University of Maine’s research facility on the Damariscotta River. “We wanted to break the umbilical cord of pumping in sea water and instead make our own and recycle it. Once you make that break, then you are entirely terrestrial.”

Like many of the world’s best ideas, this initiative sounds straightforward but represents an array of biological, chemical, engineering, and economic challenges. The goal, after all, is to “domesticate a shellfish,” Pryor says.

“We’re not creating a business. We’re creating an industry,” he asserts. Although Pryor immediately apologizes for sounding “big headed,” he has the bona fides to do so.

The Cornell English major and former Marine captain founded the Oceanic Institute — solely devoted to aquaculture research — while still a graduate student in marine biology at the University of Hawaii. At age 35, he served as a Hawaii State Senator.

Located in a Maine business park, this “Solar Arch” complex is the new, noncoastal home of Maine Shellfish Developers

The oysters he later grew in raceways at his Hawaiian seafood farm won recognition as the “outstanding food product introduced to Europe” at the European Food Fair in 1982.

After holding various university posts, he returned to farming. A land-based microalgae/ oyster aquafarm in the Cook Islands earned him a United Nations SEED award for entrepreneurship in sustainable development.

Now in Maine, the foundation of landbased high-density shellfish culture has been built. “It is a major challenge, but we learned from our trials, it is achievable,” Pryor says.

The

specs

After shutting down for several months last year because of the pandemic, activities resumed in October. Housed in a 60-by-60foot space within what Pryor calls the “Solar Arch Complex,” the beta operation will utilize four circular tanks, filled with custom pie-shaped cages to take full advantage of the 3,400-gallon capacity of each.

Pryor chose energy-efficient AST PolyGeyser Bead Filters to be part of each unit, which he calls “SS-RAS.” That nomenclature,

Tap Pryor, co-founder and CEO of Maine Shellfish Developers, plans to cultivate oysters year-round as the ‘newest terrestrial crop’ PHOTO: MAINE SHELLFISH DEVELOPERS

PHOTO: MAINE SHELLFISH DEVELOPERS

referring to shellfish, reflects important enhancements to provide oysters with the minerals they need to grow shells — adding calcium and magnesium while extracting phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium. The tank and filter together comprise “a basic feedlot,” Pryor says. “We call four of these a Low Volume Model or LVM. Each LVM is rated to harvest about a million oysters annually. Five LVM will comprise

one High Volume Model. The difference is that with an HVM, the cost per unit is halved, thanks to economies of scale.”

Another key consideration related to tank design includes advanced hydraulics. The goal is to ensure circulation “to the last oyster in the last corner of the last cage” to deliver feed to it and remove its waste 24/7.”

In addition to water quality, MSD is focusing on automation. About one-third of the room will be devoted to tumbling, washing, weighing, sorting, and packing. Through automation, these operations can occur 24 hours a day. This “high level of automated animal husbandry” will also significantly cut labor costs, a burden for current-day ocean oyster farmers.

Nutrition

Before MSD becomes a going concern, it must master how to produce feed for the oysters that will be economical on an industrial scale. It is a challenge Pryor approaches with gusto, driven especially by his interest in food waste. He has conducted research using extracts of food waste — from lobster processing, tofu factories, even spent yeast from brewing Allagash beer (of which he is fond) — as the medium to

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culture microalgae heterotrophically.

But phytoplankton, such as microalgae, is only one course in the smorgasbord MSD is planning for its oysters. The ultimate menu will “emulate the content of the estuary,” Pryor says. “The only way to develop estuarian flavor is to feed oysters estuarian food.”

In addition to phytoplankton, feed will include zooplankton (such as ciliates, which are “like jellybeans to oysters”) and detritus (such as seaweed waste refined so it becomes “bite-size for oysters”). Ocean Organics, which ferments seaweed to make fertilizer, is MSD’s next-door neighbor in the business park and future supplier of fermented seaweed residuals. Already, the two companies share a laboratory.

Aquaculture expert Dr Barry Costa-Pierce, a professor of ocean food systems at the University of New England, knew Pryor at the University of Hawaii and is familiar with the new RAS project. He reinforces the point that oysters like more than microalgae. “We’ve learned a lot about what shellfish actually eat, and it’s a mixture of different types of organisms, not just phytoplankton. That’s good news.”

In fact, it could materially impact MSD’s long-term success. As hatchery operations

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SPOTLIGHT

AST PolyGeyser Bead Filters were selected as a key component of the indoor recirculating aquaculture system

know, production of microalgae is expensive: it requires human management, costly reactors or cylinders, and a variety of inputs.

That said, MSD has already laid groundwork for bulk algal culture by hiring Chris Maloney as chief operating officer. Maloney’s credentials date back to the high-flying start-up GreenFuel Technologies, the first algae-to-biofuel company in the world. More recently, he served as a consultant and also director of biology at Bioprocess Algae, which designs, builds, and operates commercial-scale bioreactors to produce microbial feedstock.

Stepping back to survey the broader landscape, Costa-Pierce says, “The implications of this project are really tremendous.” High-density, land-based shellfish aquaculture could open up new markets in

COO Chris Maloney stands among the four 3,400-gallon tanks with a projected annual harvest rate of one million Eastern oysters

noncoastal areas, such as ski resorts and tourist destinations. He points to “phenomenal developments in the Middle East,” where high-end oyster bars are multiplying.

What really gets his attention about MSD’s potential, though, is how it could address social and environmental issues, ranging from NIMBY-ism to permitting complexity to the effects of ocean acidification on shellfish. “It’s a very disruptive technology — if it works,” he says.

In February, the MSD team, including some new members, were ramping up operations in their business park homestead, undaunted by the challenges of the new frontier.

Pryor pauses and adds, “The pens are back in production.”

PHOTOS:

Lost gear and inventory could have significant financial impact on oyster farms. Through the SmartOysters app, the public can do their bit in reporting found items to oyster farms PHOTO: ©RABBITTI / ADOBE STOCK

Ano-cost solution to the problem of lost farm gear and inventory is now at the fingertips of oyster farmers and the general public.

Following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Sally in the US State of Alabama, developers of the SmartOysters farm management app added a lost-and-found function that allows users to identify gear or inventory that went adrift from farms.

“We’ve seen how oysters growers band together after a severe weather event to help look for and recover lost bags, baskets and cages. We know the significant financial impact that lost gear and inventory could have on oyster farms,” said the app developers.

The SmartOysters app can be downloaded for free from the app store. Anyone who has the app on their smart phone could just scan the item found and its owner will be notified.

The function is enabled by the GPS function in smart phones and can be used even by members of the public who are not registered members of the SmartOyster community.

Josh Neese, the biologist behind the Florida Oyster Trading Co and the first “US lead generator” for SmartOysters, described the lost-and-found function as “a free service that engages the community in helping with aquaculture-related marine debris.”

An additional free service offered by the app is an ecosystem services function. “This is being offered as a free service to NGOs and non-profits engaged in restoration projects. They could use it to quantify such parameters as water volume filtered, carbon removal, and nitrogen sequestered,” Neese added. “It connects the industry to free resources that may benefit the greater good.”

‘FARM-ON-A-BOAT’ idea could disrupt shellfish industry

Cape Cod farmer behind the invention

BY LYNN FANTOM

Past the bobbing sailboats and skiffs along the Cape Cod shoreline, owners of spacious shingle-style homes might spot a pristine white boat with a solar-paneled canopy some 200 yards out in Megansett Harbor. A good guess would be that it’s a tour boat to Martha’s Vineyard or perhaps a research vessel from nearby Woods Hole. But no one would believe it is a self-contained, high-density shellfish farm.

In January, Dr Dan Ward, owner of Ward Aquafarms in Falmouth, Massachusetts, began marketing this vessel, which he created as a solution to many of the problems he has encountered as a farmer himself: the disappearance of real estate available for aquaculture Self-contained, high-density shellfish farm addresses woes of shellfish growers, says

Dr Dan Ward, owner of Ward Aquafarms, has spun off a new company marketing a high-density shellfish farm wholly contained on a boat

orthwest Plastics Ltd. of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia has acquired Go Deep International Inc., a specialist in product development, manufacturing, and distribution of polyethylene-based solutions for the marine industries. Founded in 1973, Northwest Plastics Ltd. (NPL) is one of the largest ISO-certified manufacturers of rotationally molded plastics products in Canada. Go Deep will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of NPL from its facilities in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Go Deep solidified its position in the industry in the early 1990’s with pressurized floats developed specifically for sub-surface longline aqua farming. Manufactured from high-density polyethylene the floats are purposely

designed as an environmentally friendly replacement for styrofoam buoys increasing efficiencies, enabling entire longline systems to be sub-surface with reduced stress from waves, storms and ice while lessening the visual effect of thousands of buoys on the water.

Since the company’s establishment in 1997 to serve the mussel farming industry in Prince Edward Island, the company has added a variety of products including floatation solutions for oyster growers.

The company also offers lease-marking buoys and solar lights, improved versions based on experience gained manufacturing polyethylene buoys for the Canadian and United States Coast Guards.

“crosswellers” to nourish racks of shellfish

infrastructure, pushback from property owners who don’t want shellfish farms in their backyards, back-breaking toil, high labor costs, the risks of harmful algae blooms, disease outbreaks, and storms.

The Modular Aquaculture Production (MAP) system addresses “all of those problems that are keeping us stuck in this kind of inefficient, low-margin business,” he says, displaying an almost boyish glee at having solved a very hard puzzle. In 2016, he came up with the idea of such a boat — essentially a floating crossweller — and initially funded its development through a USDA grant. Then serial biotech entrepreneur Dr Mark Tepper entered the picture and, in 2019, Ward spun off the project and co-founded Atlantic Aquaculture Technologies with Tepper.

And that’s the other benefit, Ward says. “I’ve had numerous people come to me because they want to invest in aquaculture. They see it as the future.” He pauses, then adds facetiously, “But I tell them: what are you going to invest in? I own plastic bags on a leased beach.”

With a MAP vessel, however, a farmer owns “an actual asset” that may make it easier to secure bank financing or private investment. In turn, it can be sold. Like land-based recirculating aquaculture systems, such a physical enterprise may bring larger-scale institutional investment, something Ward says shellfish aquaculture needs.

As a boat, MAP may also open up more ocean area to aquaculture and ease permitting headaches if authorities license it similar to a fishing vessel.

The new shellfish grow-out operation is completely self-contained on the vessel, which has its own solar power and remote monitoring system. A floating platform, which includes the power storage/supply and staging areas, surrounds wells or “modules” where the shellfish are grown on trays within cages. The boat’s single-point mooring features a chain all the way to the surface, so “there’s zero entanglement risk” for whales or sea turtles, Ward adds.

Electronic lifts raise and move the shellfish. In Ward’s operation, that means a 75-percent cut in labor costs and a longer working life for individual farmers. “It’s really a limited number of years that you can work at a commercial level before your body can’t handle it,” he adds. On the vessel, hydraulics comprised of pumps and baffles control the flow rate and direction of sea water, ensuring the entire module of

As a boat, MAP may also open up more ocean area to aquaculture and ease permitting headaches if authorities license it similar to a fishing vessel

Navigating farmers to profitability

Oyster farms are traditionally run on memory, a whiteboard, or even an old school database systems but farmer Ewan McAsh believed there was a better way. Living in the smartphone era meant he could do everything from checking emails to paying bills at the touch of a button, so why not manage the farm remotely?

SmartOysters’ aquaculture and systems specialist Colin Bridges is happy to answer any questions you may have about how your farm business can benefit from SmartOysters or its other platforms.

Reach out at colin@smartoysters.com or via www.smartoysters.com

The vessel, now farming off the coast of Cape Cod, features solar power and two large modules that function as

Let’s Tie One on Together in 2021

Flag Tie Markers

Flag tie markers are another cost-effective way to secure and identify shellfish equipment. They are available in a variety of lengths and marking area sizes to accommodate specific requirements. They can also be hot stamped for identification purposes.

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• Available in Blue, Green, Ivory, Orange, Red, Yellow

• Available with blank flags that may be custom printed or Write-on

Cable ties

Cable ties are vastly used in the shellfish industry for securing cages and bags. They are a cost-effective and simple way to ensure equipment is not susceptible to tampering. Available in a wide range of colors, they are also used for identification purposes.

• Lengths from 4” to 60”

• Tensile strengths from 18 lb. to 250 lb.

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SPOTLIGHT ON SHELLFISH

trays receives what it needs. This permits significantly higher stocking density — five times higher for bay scallops and over ten times for Eastern oysters.

In addition to water temperature, the monitoring system also tracks dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, and salinity. But the key point, says Ward, is that now all of these data are actionable. “Do I need to reverse water flow? Add oxygen? Move to a different area? There are all kinds of things I can do now because the entire farm is one, contained unit.”

In addition to managing environment risks, Ward’s system allows farmers to diversify crops. He has used it to cultivate high-value bay scallops and believes it will be effective with other shellfish, seaweed, and finfish. (Ward, who earned a PhD in environmental science and biology, has published scientific papers on the stocking density of Atlantic cod and diets for summer flounder.)

Ward calculates that the two-module vessel now moored off the coast of Falmouth will produce 500,000 oysters this year, but its capacity could be easily increased if he chose to farm in deeper water. After a year-long trial, he calculates that the system has both higher output and lower operating costs than traditional

lifts raise racks of shellfish from a

includes the power storage and staging areas

methods. “it is eight times cheaper for me to farm using MAP than bottom cages,” he says.

The concept is now market-ready. Although people may want to buy the entire system or a module of trays, Atlantic Aquaculture Technologies is also offering individual trays to smaller farmers or investors. Longer term, Ward muses, a restaurant may want to grow

WAYS INSTANT ALGAE

branded shellfish or a nonprofit might tap the system for nitrogen remediation.

In addition to this spin-off, Ward plans to continue to run his two marinas and Ward Aquafarms — a part commercial operation and part lab. “I use my farm as a research platform to be able to improve methods and techniques in the industry,” he says.

Electronic

well surrounded by a floating platform, which

PHOTO: WARD AQUAFARMS

INNOVATIONS MOVING THE SHELLFISH SECTOR FORWARD

From

genetics programs to solar-powered processing, growers are improving the industry

BY JENNIFER BROWN

Genetics research and mechanization are playing a larger role in biosecurity and fish health.

Dr John Buchanan leads the genetics team at the Center for Aquaculture Technologies (CAT) based in Prince Edward Island and San Diego, California. The organization provides the industry solutions involving breeding programs and genetic tools.

In the last five years, Buchanan says much work has been done to build more sophisticated tools and be more thoughtful about breeding programs in the aquaculture industry.

“I think we have reached a critical mass where people are saying let’s build the tools, and they will come,” says Buchanan, president and CEO of CAT. “Our company’s focus is on how to take the examples from

the cattle industry, where people will spend $80 per animal to genotype it because the animal is worth a lot. In aquaculture, we have thousands of animals, so let’s get 90 percent of the efficacy and do it for 25 percent of the cost, and many people will use it. It’s exciting to have these tools that we know work, and that are now cost-effective and available for use in shellfish.”

One of the pressing problems that the R&D center helped address is the herpesvirus, virulent disease in Pacific oyster. “We’ve worked to create some resistance to that in the breeding programs,” says Buchanan.

BC: Addressing oyster mortality

In British Columbia, a selective breeding program is underway to improve resistance to summer mortality syndrome. The three-year project will continue into 2022.

The project’s primary goal is to evaluate the level of genetic resistance to summer mortality in the BC Pacific oyster population and then recommend a selective breeding strategy that promotes resilience.

The project will produce 42 pair-mated families and evaluate their survival and growth rates in the field (at commercial farm sites) and in the laboratory under controlled stress conditions (e.g. temperature, Vibrio infection).

Even a modest reduction in mortality rates would grow the value of the BC shellfish industry by millions of dollars, said the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Further, the development of a selective breeding program would enhance the industry’s sustainability and help safeguard the resource under the context of a changing marine environment.

Growers are also investing in technology

the gene pools on hand. We will also have a better performing oyster that will get to market faster,” says Mallet.

to help with summer mortality syndrome by moving to shell-sorting devices that help eliminate dead shells.

“The (shellfish) mortality rising, and people are looking at that technology to sort the live and the dead cost-effectively,” says Jim Russell of the BC Shellfish Growers Association.

Work is also underway in the province to better understand the highly contagious norovirus, a leading cause of non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis in humans.

A $300,000-project by the Ministry of Agriculture and Genome BC is looking at genetic markers for the norovirus “to develop an early warning system to identify when norovirus may be present in the growing environment,” says Jim Russell of the BC Shellfish Growers Association.

The project aims to come up with farmbased, real-time monitoring systems that will serve as early detection tools for norovirus. This will minimize human illness associated with consumption of raw oysters.

New Brunswick:

Toward a better oyster

A $3.8-million project with Genome Atlantic and Genome Quebec is about to enter its next phase, according to Marc André Mallet of L’Etang Ruisseau Bar Ltée hatchery, the largest oyster seed supplier in the Maritimes.

The project aims to use genomics to produce the first selectively bred Canadian strain of the Eastern oyster.

“We’ve been working on a genetics program and about to see the fruits of that breeding program as we start selecting for traits we’re looking for,” says Mallet. “We’re starting to put it on a larger commercial scale, and it’s not only for us but for the industry as a whole.”

Mallet says growers are moving towards having a hatchery seed because it guarantees speed and productivity.

“We’re developing a larger gene pool, so if we were ever to have a disease in the Atlantic provinces, we could recover from that with

The project has produced a high-density SNP chip to create a breeding program that will select certain traits to improve productivity and boost profitability.

“Despite COVID, we’re on schedule from the initial plan,” says Dr Louis Bernatchez of the department of biology at the Université Laval in Quebec. “The first trials of this tool will happen in the next couple of months. It’s about getting faster growth for oysters, given we’re at the northern edge of distribution. It takes longer to grow an oyster of the same size as if you were to go down to the Chesapeake Bay.”

PEI: Climate-proofing the blue mussel

Prince Edward Island’s blue mussel production could double over the next 10 years from 50 million to 100 million pounds annually if the performance of blue mussels ( Mytilus edulis ) could be optimized. This is the goal of a genomics-driven initiative by

A project in New Brunswick is using genomics to produce the first selectively bred Canadian strain of the Eastern oyster

Genome Atlantic, the PEI Government and PEI mussel producers.

The $800,000-project will sequence the genome of the blue mussel to establish a modern and sustainable breeding program that will select traits important to growers, such as growth, stress-resistance and temperature resistance.

“The realities of climate change will push several bilogical limits of the blue mussel but genomics will help ensure that PEI mussels can become resilient to new environmental conditions,” said the collaborators in the project.

PEI is the source of 80 percent of all mussels sold in North America. The selective breeding initiative “will allow the Island to retain its dominant position in the mussel industry,” they added.

Research is underway to make the consumption of raw oysters safer for consumers

PHOTO: ©SERGEY / ADOBE STOCK

PHOTO: L’ÉTANG RUISSEAU BAR

Solar-powered machine makes for greener, faster ops

A solar-powered oyster sorting machine is installed on D’Eon Oyster Co’s barge in Salt Bay in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia PHOTOS:

On Salt Bay, the D’Eon Oyster Co is processing their oysters much faster these days, aided by the power of the sun as it beams down on Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

The family-owned farm has installed a solar-powered oyster sorting machine on its barge so the oysters are already graded by the time they are brought ashore.

“We thought it would be cool if we could process the oysters on the water, before hauling them to shore. Then we came up with the idea of a barge, and then things escalated — what if we could have grading equipment on the barge?”

CANADA’S SHELLFISH growers eager for markets to return

But there are concerns some restaurant clients could be gone forever

Canada’s shellfish producers are looking forward to once again supply the world with their highly-sought-after product, but some wonder how many of their food service and restaurant customers will survive the pandemic’s devastating impact.

“It’s scary because we can’t predict anything at the moment,” says Mica Verbrugge, owner and operator of Effingham Oyster located in Barkley Sound in Pacific Rim National Park, British Columbia. “With each projection I make, I have to think about whether California or Ontario are going into

BY JENNIFER BROWN

further lockdown. Our biggest worry is the restaurant market. We rely on them so much.”

When restaurants in Asia were ordered to shut down in February 2020, those in the US and Canada were soon asked to close too. The markets collapsed particularly for half-shell oysters, which account for 60 percent of the production in BC, says Jim Russell, executive director of the BC Shellfish Growers Association (BCSGA). “We estimated our members were losing $2.4 million a month in sales. It’s been a marathon and it looks like it will be another six months before any return to normalcy,” he said this past January.

Phone: 604-926-1050

Fax: 604-926-1055

Cell: 604-833-5311

darksea@shaw.ca

growers are looking forward to the time when they can supply the world again with their highly-sought-after product

British Columbia Verbrugge has operated his farm since 2013. He sold his oysters directly to restaurants on Vancouver Island, but to everyone else in Canada and the US he sold through national distributors. His US distributor “just fell off the map.” “We lost that market right away,” he said.

BCSGA’s Russell noted that members of the association reported that Christmas sales were “okay,” but the phones have since stopped ringing again. “It’s still absolutely grim.”

Larger producers with clam and shucked oyster production fared a bit better as some of those products sell at retail outlets. Half-shell

Shellfish

PHOTO: ©LEMBRECHTSJONAS / ADOBE STOCK

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oysters aren’t popular at retail because most consumers aren’t comfortable shucking them.

With 95 percent of BC shellfish product going to restaurants, Verbrugge wonders how many will recover.

“My seed supplier’s sales were down 80 percent this year. This indicates that people didn’t replant this year. I expect many farms will be packing it up,” says Verbrugge, who is also a director with BCSGA. “Hopefully, if things do open up, we’re in a position where we can move a lot of oysters.”

Verbrugge now sells his oysters directly to customers. He says this results in a better product for the customer because cutting out the middle man means it arrives at the destination faster.

“It’s a lot harder to send three boxes here and 20 boxes there, but I don’t see us going back to the big distributors anytime soon. We’ve now learned to do this in Canada, and it’s not that hard.”

He increased the price as the products arrive at their destination faster and fresher.

“For the same delivery cost, we can air freight it to Alberta, and it’s there in 12 hours from the time it leaves the water. It’s a far nicer product and gives restaurants the additional shelf life.”

Verbrugge is preparing for a post-pandemic return of the markets. He is implementing his five-year strategy to mechanize and upgrade the farm. The target is to boost production from 100,000 dozen oysters a year to one million dozen a year. Since 2018, he’s invested in a grading machine from Australia, built a plant, bought refrigerated trucks and built additional rafts and trays.

“We used to do five million seeds a year, and then we jumped up to 15 million,” he says. “We had a massive amount of new production come online this year. We’re too far along to stop. The pandemic definitely slowed us down, but we’ll keep going.”

In March 2020, the federal government launched the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) to support entrepreneurs hit hard by the pandemic. Its extension to June 2021 has been “a godsend,” said Russell, because it gives shellfish growers access to funds to pay their staff and do maintenance projects.

Verbrugge availed of it to do clean-ups on the farm to keep his eight employees working. He had to increase wages by 30 percent –– to $22/hour from $17 –– to compete with the amount that unemployed workers were receiving from the government.

BC growers are also beneficiaries of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Ghost Gear Fund. Over two years beginning in March 2020, they have at their disposal $350,000 to clean up the debris under suspended shellfish farms. Russell says such cleanup efforts help the industry maintain social licence in the communities where farms operate.

Prince Edward Isand

The pandemic dealt shellfish growers in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick the same blow.

“For most of us selling oysters, one of the biggest shocks was that we don’t have a lot of retail sales. Our primary channel is food

service,” says Jacob Dockendorff of Atlantic Shellfish Products Inc in PEI. Compounding that is the fact that “oysters aren’t take-out friendly or delivery friendly.”

He said PEI shellfish growers were riding a wave of growth before the pandemic. “We were coming out of a really hot period: 30 percent growth year over year for the last two or three years, so we invested in new equipment to deal with the market growth.”

He says the “vibe” is that everyone is waiting it out and expecting a return to normal sometime within the next nine months. “We had a good run, so it was really a shock when the numbers went in reverse. But it’s not always about the numbers; farmers and fisherman are usually prepared for a downturn.”

New Brunswick

In New Brunswick, the disruption of production cycles meant growers had to reorganize growing sites and equipment to ensure they had the space to hold extra inventory caused by the market slowdown, says Nick Brown, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries.

Marc Andre Mallett of Huitres Mallet Oysters in Shippagan, New Brunswick says sales went to zero for a couple of weeks in the first few weeks of the pandemic. As things settled down, he began to see a shift to online sales. “It has definitely

95 percent of BC shellfish product go to restaurants, a sector hit hard by the pandemic

PHOTO: JAMES MARTIN

Those with diverse product range fared a bit better as some of those products sell at retail outlets

The BC Shellfish Growers Association estimates that its members were losing $2.4 million a month in sales

become more customer-based, whereas usually it was all wholesale; that was a challenge, but things have turned around,” he said.

Mallet added that the company is in “full expansion” mode, having just doubled its facilities on land. “Every year, we’re putting new gear in the water to increase our production to sell to market but also to increase our hatchery-produced seed to sell to other growers and our own production as well.”

Two years ago, the company started developing a better wet holding facility to have the product on hand for market-size oysters all-year round. “We have to have bigger availability in case we have bad ice conditions like we’re having right now,” says Mallet.

New Brunswick’s farmed oyster sector grew 96 percent over the last decade, according to the New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries. In 2020, there were 642,644 oyster bags in the water compared to 329,852 bags in 2012. Growth was fuelled by funding initiatives, greater social acceptability, access to additional sites and sustained market demand.

The province also saw an upward trend in farm gate sales (direct to consumer, retailers or restaurants). In 2019, reported farm gate sales reached 35 million oysters, valued at $15.3 million, compared to 17.7 million oysters in 2014 valued at $6.3 million.

The department is working on modernizing local regulations to better support growth and attract more investments in the sector. Brown notes that with several Mi’gmaq oyster companies in operation, the industry offers a unique development opportunity for New Brunswick First Nations.

Nova Scotia

A considerably smaller industry compared to that of its neighbours, Nova Scotia shellfish farmers also were also hit by the pandemic. But the province’s plans to expand the industry has many looking to the years ahead with more optimism.

Water at the planned ‘business park on the sea’ in Nova Scotia has been deemed ‘ideal’ following some tests

“The restaurant industry was our bread and butter,” says Colton D’Eon of D’Eon Oyster Company Ltd in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. “We weren’t as diversified as we should have been, but no one thought a pandemic would happen. We need to diversify our market a little more.”

D’Eon created “grab and go” boxes of two dozen oysters that include a note about properly opening an oyster.

Located in the Municipality of the District of Argyle, D’Eon says he’s keen to see the province approve a proposed “business park on the sea” for oyster farming, which is considered the first of its kind in Canada. A total of 19 ocean sites have been identified to lease out to companies looking to farm oysters in the area.

Charlene LeBlanc, community development officer of the municipality, has conducted water testing in the area, and it has been deemed “ideal.”

Nova Scotia has considerably less oyster production – it was a $3-million industry in 2019 –compared to Prince Edward Island’s and New Brunswick’s $13 million and $12 million, respectively. Prior to the pandemic, the farmers couldn’t keep up with demand, says LeBlanc.

“We’re getting a lot of calls from people in Canada and the US asking how they can get a lease,” she added.

The project involves provincial and federal departments from 12 different agencies, and it is going to the Nova Scotia Cabinet for approval in February.

Vaccines may be the biggest tool in the fish health toolbox

With the current race to end the pandemic and recent approval of new COVID vaccines, an article on aquaculture vaccines just seemed to make sense! Vaccines have been around since the late 1700s and have revolutionized medicine by minimizing or even eliminating some diseases. It is not surprising that everyone is hoping a vaccine will be the cure to COVID-19 and the ticket back to normalcy. Vaccines to prevent or minimize disease in humans, livestock, or even pets, are common but aquaculture vaccines are not used as widely and have been challenging to develop. Aquaculture is diverse and with a limited number of licensed vaccines available, producers often ask why or if they should vaccinate their fish. In this article, I provide a basic overview of what a vaccine is, types of aquaculture vaccines, vaccine delivery, herd immunity, and when to utilize a vaccine as a tool in your fish health management program.

What is a Vaccine?

Vaccines consist of substances that usually mimic a pathogen or part of a pathogen to

In most cases, the decision to use an aquaculture vaccine is a financial one, says columnis

“trick” the animal’s immune system into thinking it is being attacked. The hallmark of an immune response in any animal is the ability of immune cells to distinguish between “self” and “non-self” or foreign invaders and eliminate the invader from the body. A vaccine has the advantage in that once the immune system is activated it develops certain proteins called antibodies that circulate in the blood and can specifically recognize and bind to a pathogen to inactivate or eliminate it from the animal. Therefore, vaccines prevent major disease outbreak before they occur. In aquaculture, vaccines (if available) should be part of a disease management program along with other tools such as antibiotics (used to treat bacterial diseases), other therapeutics (which

can be applied water), feed additives (that may stimulate immunity in general), biosecurity, and optimum rearing conditions that minimize stress on the animals.

Types of Aquaculture Vaccines

There are many types of fish vaccines but relatively few types are available for commercial use as fully licensed vaccines. The most common are bacterins consisting of killed or attenuated bacterial pathogens. The killed vaccines are safe, relatively simple to produce, and for some diseases can be quite effective. An attenuated vaccine contains a pathogen that is still alive but its ability to cause disease (or sickness) in an animal has been eliminated. These often are more effective than killed vaccines because a live pathogen can stimulate a stronger immune response in the animal. Other vaccines that utilize parts of a pathogen (e.g. sub-unit, recombinant, DNA, or RNA) are less common but some are available and more are being developed by researchers. One example for aquaculture would be the APEX-IHN vaccine, a DNA vaccine licensed in Canada, and of course in humans the new Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines that use genetic material (i.e. mRNA) that when injected result in the production of the main coronavirus surface protein by your cells. You therefore see part of the virus without ever being exposed to it and in turn your body is triggered to respond to the “foreign” substance, produce antibodies that recognize and bind to this protein, and ultimately neutralize the real virus if and when it is encountered.

Delivery of Fish Vaccines

Aquaculture vaccines can be delivered differently than those used for humans and other animals, where almost all are delivered by

Ken Cain is a Professor at the University of Idaho who teaches courses on Fish Health Management, Aquaculture, and Wild/Hatchery Fish Interactions. Ken’s passion for fishing led him to a lifelong career in aquaculture and research focused on fish immunology and vaccine development. He continues to be motivated by a desire to solve problems that challenge the industry and impact fishery resources.

PHOTO: PHARMAQ

injection. Although there are many injectable vaccines used for fish, these are primarily utilized for high value species or when losses to a specific disease occur at larger sizes (e.g. when Atlantic salmon smolts are moved to seawater). For fish that are susceptible to a target disease during juvenile stages or the cost of injection is prohibitive, immersion vaccines are the most common. Immersion vaccination is less stressful on fish and can be administered to fish during earlier life stages. Another method is oral vaccination where the vaccine is mixed in or top-coated on the feed. This is the easiest and least stressful way to vaccinate fish but is usually less effective because the vaccine components must pass through the gut and can be degraded during digestion in the stomach.

Herd Immunity

So, what does herd immunity mean and how does this relate to aquaculture vaccines? Herd immunity is when much of a population (animals, humans, fish, etc.) is immune to a specific disease. When this occurs, the pathogen that causes that disease (virus, bacteria, etc.) is unable to persist in a population of vaccinated animals and the

disease is eliminated. This usually requires a large portion of the susceptible population to be vaccinated to see this desired effect. For aquaculture, where large populations of fish are in the water, it can have a dramatic effect especially on pathogens that require a host to survive (such as most viruses). It may not eliminate a pathogen if it persists in nature or within carrier animals, but if the population is vaccinated, the number of diseased animals shedding the pathogen into the water column is reduced. This can not only reduce disease on the farm but limit the potential spread to other susceptible fish in the environment.

Why should I vaccinate my fish?

Vaccines have been and continue to be the most desired tools for prevention of severe disease outbreaks and their development has transformed human and animal health. In most cases, the decision to use an aquaculture vaccine is a financial one. When cost savings from the anticipated improvement in survival outweigh vaccine cost, then you should vaccinate. However, other reasons related to cost but also quality should be considered. Vaccines can improve growth

Vaccines have been and continue to be the most desired tools for prevention of severe disease outbreaks and their development has transformed human and animal health.

performance and low-quality product concerns (e.g. deformities in surviving fish) by minimizing disease outbreaks. If antibiotics are commonly used to control specific diseases, vaccination reduces the potential development of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. Public perception also favors vaccine use over antibiotics, and this can translate to higher value products and improved marketing opportunities. Bottom line is that if a vaccine is available it should be included as a tool in the “Fish Health Toolbox” for any aquaculture producer.

For my next topic, I’ll be more than happy to answer questions or if you want advice regarding fish health, drop me a line at kcain@uidaho.edu

Hawser Pipe Style

Fender Systems

Rabobank: A lot is riding on cost-price performance of RAS salmon

Commercialization of salmon grown in RAS facilities and how they perform in cost and price are two key developments to watch in 2021, says Rabobank.

The Dutch bank says this will determine how much capital flows toward them in the future.

In its” Global Animal Protein Outlook for 2021” report, it noted that large-scale recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) facilities that have produced some of their first salmon harvests in the second half of 2020 are expected to scale throughout 2021.

The report sees 2021 as a year for recovery for animal protein production. It says there’s an opportunity for RAS-based salmon to ease its way into the market, as salmon demand continues to strengthen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Renewed consumer interest in cooking salmon at home, particularly in the Americas and Europe, saw salmon demand grow between 3 to 4 percent in 2020. Although currently sold at lower price points, salmon is expected to further recover as the food services industry gradually reopens and price expectations starts to lift, says the report.

Concurrently, Rabobank foresees salmon supply to expand marginally from 0.5 percent to 2 percent in 2021, much lower than demand growth or historical supply growth. This means the industry will not meet the sustained increase in demand for salmon this year as supply is expected to contract from 8 to 9 percent due reduced smolt production in Chile, which impacts key markets such as the United States, Brazil, and Russia.

SALMON-FARMING RAS FACILITIES GLOBALLY AND EXPECTED OUTPUT

6 6 1 3 4 3 2 11 13 3

SOURCE: RABOBANK 2019

“Operational risks still exists,” says Beyhan de Jong, analyst at Rabobank. “Volumes in the near term will depend on how leading projects like Atlantic Sapphire will progress and perform.”

Long-term outlook

Rabobank has identified over 50 publicly announced RAS-based salmon projects globally, in its 2019 report “Aquaculture 2.0. RAS is Driving Change.” The projects are estimated to produce a combined total of more than 700,00 metric tons within the next decade, which represents up to 25 percent of the expected growth in the total salmon supply to 2030.

However, Rabobank does not expect all those projects to materialize at once. In fact, it does not expect the small volumes coming from RAS within the next five years to compete with sea-based farming or impact salmon prices in the next five years.

Reluctance among early adopters to scale their RAS-based salmon production is expected. Not only is the system more capital intensive than other conventional aquaculture systems – roughly 10 to 15 percent more expensive than marine farming, says Rabobank – there are also other issues farmers need to

PHOTO: LIZA MAYER

contend with. It could range from difficulty in obtaining licenses and technical failures to various environmental and biological challenges including mortality, diseases and decreased quality of salmon produced.

Rabobank says the growth, profitability and mainstreaming of land-based salmon projects will depend on production volumes costs, prices, and consumer acceptance of land-based salmon.

To succeed, RAS salmon projects should achieve its ambitious target harvest levels of 500,000 metric tons. Rabobank suggests the sector will succeed in finding a niche market if it can produce salmon around NOK40 ($4.66) per kg to NOK50 ($5.82) per kg even with less-than-expected production volumes.

RAS success would also depend on how open-net-pen salmon farming manages the biological and environmental challenges it currently faces, such as sea lice infestations and other diseases, it said. When these issues remain uncontrolled, it would create an opportunity for land-based salmon to enter the market.

The location of successful RAS farms will also be crucial to the growth of the sector. Rabobank argues that achieving market share of 10 percent among large salmon producing countries such as Norway or Chile would have a small impact; however, but if the same is achieved in markets where there’s no salmon production, for instance China, such achievement could change current trade dynamics.

“We believe that every project is unique and needs to be evaluated separately. There is a high chance that some of these projects will succeed if they have at least half of the key success factors regarding the species and location selection,” says Rabobank.

Beyond salmon

Currently, the focus of RAS is on high-value, premium, and niche products, such as salmon and, to a limited extent, kingfish, sole, sturgeon, turbot, barramundi, and steelhead. (See page 14 for a US company’s attempt to use RAS to grow shellfish.)

“With technology advancing, there might be opportunities for other seafood categories as well in the future, although the focus will always be on the categories with a higher price point for some time. Successful RAS operators will be pioneers in what could be a new and booming aquaculture industry,” Rabobank says.

For those in the salmon industry and other aquaculture value-chain operations, now is the time to decide if they should invest in RAS or invest to ensure they stay ahead of RAS, as this technology matures, grows, and disrupts the market,” suggests the report.

– Lalou Ramos

Partnership evaluates RAS-specific feed

Cargill and The Freshwater Institute have entered into a partnership to evaluate one of the biggest factors in fish farming: feed.

The West Virginia-based institute said it is evaluating a RAS-specific feed for post-smolt Atlantic salmon developed by Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health.

“When trialing feeds in RAS it’s not only important to evaluate fish performance, but also to evaluate the effects on water quality, waste production, and system operation,” it said.

The partnership is but one of many that Cargill has formed globally to help advance the development of RAS-specific feeds. It is also not the first collaboration between the two; Cargill said a 2018 study it commissioned to The Freshwater Institute resulted in the feed supplier’s “most successful” grower feeds for RAS so far.

United States’ RAS sector gets a leg up

Aconsortium of experts that aims to advance the United States’ fledgling RAS salmon industry has officially launched and its website is now live.

The Recirculating Aquaculture Salmon Network (RAS-N) comprises institutes and private sector entities that will look into role of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in addressing US seafood deficit.

They plan to identify technological and scientific gaps and prioritize research that will help advance industry development. Those efforts will be published in the RAS-N’s website at www.ras-n.org.

A $1.2-million grant from NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office in October 2019 got the initiative started.

Maryland Sea Grant and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, are lead partners in the initiative. Industry collaborators, which matched the fund from NOAA, include Superior Fresh, Whole Oceans and Riverence.

“Together, the private and public sector have invested more than $2 billion into land-based salmon aquaculture, and its technologies and knowledge base are rapidly advancing. Our partners and collaborators represent a broad approach in nurturing and supporting sustainable, land-based RAS Atlantic salmon production in the United States,” said RAS-N.

Land-based RAS Atlantic salmon production in the United States is only in its early stages and needs help to advance PHOTO: SUPERIOR FRESH

PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

IMAGES: ADOBE STOCK

New England eager to cash in on Japan’s hunger for sea urchins

Local waters ideal for farming but there are bottlenecks

Researchers at the University of Maine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (UME-CCAR) are planting the seeds of what could be a new industry in New England in the notso-distant future: sea urchin aquaculture.

Sea urchins are largely unfamiliar to many in North America but they are a highly sought delicacy in Japan. Data from NOAA shows Japan imported about 11,000 metric tons of live sea urchins and sea urchin roe in 2016, valued at about $183 million, up more than six-fold in volume and nine-fold in value from 1975.

The NOAA report said sea urchin roe shipped from Los Angeles is considered to be “the best in Japan’s import market.”

“With Japanese harvest unlikely to increase in the short term, increased export of US sea urchins and sea urchin roe has significant potential,” it noted.

But researchers at CCAR said North American supplies cannot meet the demand because of declining natural stocks and increased stock regulation. To supplement

Sea urchin farming perfect match for seaweed producer

supply, the researchers have been producing sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) seed at the CCAR hatchery that local seafood farmers could avail of at no cost.

The problem, however, is the inconsistency in the hatchery’s seed production. This makes it difficult to promise potential sea urchin farmers a reliable supply of low-cost seed each year, they noted.

“In order for profitable sea urchin aquaculture to be achieved, a supply of reliable and low-cost seed stock production is vital,” said Dr Coleen Suckling of the University of Rhode Island, lead investigator in a new two-year study aimed at addressing the bottlenecks.

The study, “Expanding green sea urchin production by removing key aquaculture challenges,” will improve green sea urchin hatchery production, provide seed at no cost to growers and inform the general industry about sea urchin aquaculture.

“The study has only just started but we already have a handful of growers who are signed up to receive seed this year,” said Suckling.

When Maine seaweed farmer Sara Redmond was looking for an auxiliary crop to raise alongside her seaweed, one candidate was immediately obvious: sea urchin.

In Redmond’s situation, the species (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) ticks all the right boxes: the source of free sea urchin seed – the University of Maine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research Hatchery – is just down the road from where she lives; her lease on Stave Island in Frenchman Bay in Gouldsboro is uniquely sited in over a 100-feet deep water; and more importantly, it fits in with her existing activities.

“There’s an opportunity to take advantage of that valuable space that I’m leasing in the ocean and add a couple of multi-year crops as long it doesn’t require a tremendous amount of extra labor. I can tend to them as I tend to my seaweed,” she says.

The plan is to grow anywhere from 1,000 to 70,000 sea urchins in up to 925 deep-water nets. Stocking density is 10 to 12 urchins per tier in a seven-tier lantern net. The initial venture will be experimental in scale but she

She said a couple of those that signed up are upscaling existing production efforts resulting from previously successful pilot grow out trials. The others, she said, will be conducting their first or second pilot growth trials.

“The demographic at the moment is across Maine with existing growers for other species (seaweed, oysters, scallops). This project includes providing free seed and technical

plans to go commercial if it proves successful.

Redmond is behind Springtime Seaweed, which grows certified-organic kelp and processes it into dried flakes and powders for the ingredient market. Kelp is sea urchin’s preferred food; it is abundant and free at the farm.

“I am hoping that we can create a system that will produce such a high-quality urchin that would interest high-end customers in Japan,” she says. “I think what’s really exciting about cultivating your own seafood is that you have an opportunity to improve the

Sea urchins sold at an Oriental market in Vancouver for $10 each PHOTO: LIZA MAYER

Dr Coleen Suckling of the University of Rhode Island leads a study that aims to remove bottlenecks in green sea urchin aquaculture PHOTOS: CCAR

CCAR sea urchin study team. (L-R) Dr Coleen Suckling, Tara Plee and Luz Kogson are addressing the bottlenecks in sea urchin aquaculture

rearing advice to help new growers to try out growing sea urchins,” she said.

Online talks and Q&A sessions will be held in the coming weeks to discuss CCAR seed availability and give an overview how to grow green sea urchins through aquaculture to garner more interest and uptake of sea urchin growth trials.

“We’re looking to sign up more,” added Steve Eddy, the co-principal investigator leading the Maine-based activities. We believe sea urchins are a natural fit with kelp aquaculture (their favorite food!) and oyster farms.”

The study is funded by the Northeastern Regional Aquaculture Center.

quality and the flavor. We’ve been working on cultivating a wide range of seaweed species. So if you can feed your urchins a certain blend of seaweed, those seaweeds will impart the flavors in uni (gonad). I’m really excited about the potential to create like a very high-quality uni with flavors that can be consistent.”

Redmond chose American oyster ( Crassostrea virginica ) as a second supplementary crop. With oysters typically grown in shallow water, she will grow them initially on an experimental basis to see how they’ll do in waters more than 20-feet deep. The plan is to grow up to 35,000 oysters in up to 50 seven-tier lantern nets suspended from deep longlines.

Redmond expects to reap a “really nice data set” this year and next from the new ventures. “Then we (alongside CCAR hatchery) are going to create a training program so that we can go out and share with other farmers the results from our work on how they might be able to integrate them into their farm,” she said.

–Liza Mayer

Diving into the sea urchin market

Looking to diversify his operations, David Quinby of Ocean Resources Inc in Sedgwick, Maine, hopes sea urchins will provide a new and profitable product for cultivation.

Ocean Resources supplies wild starfish and urchins for the educational and scientific market. But, “like everyone else, I’m very interested in aquaculture,” said Quinby.

He is seeking approval on an application for a 20-year, 2.96-acre lease in the Jordan River between the towns of Lemoine and Trenton near Portland, Maine. His goal is to harvest green sea urchins and American oysters, which will cohabitate together in cages. Urchin seed will be provided by the University of Maine Center for Cooperative Agriculture Research.

“We would like to put 90 cages down right at the beginning – that was the University of Maine’s idea. They want to try density experiments. A cage will be three-feet by two-and-a foot high – the size of a standard lobster trap. We’re hoping to place 150 urchins in 30 cages and track the growth rates of those,” says Quinby, who is confident he will get approval for the lease.

Unfortunately, the approval process has been delayed because of the pandemic, but Quinby, who has had an experimental lease, is confident the approval will go through.

“We’ve already had one public hearing, and I anticipate the next public hearings will go well,” he says. His application indicates there will be a maximum of 900 cages on the bottom of the tidal river when fully realized.

Quinby has harvested wild urchins for the scientific market and sold them to the Japanese market in the past. In this new project, they would be sold for their roe content as sushi, or for classroom and scientific use. The oysters would be sold as seafood.

The State of Maine has tried to restock urchins but have never caged them. Lobster traps stay on the bottom and are readily available.

“I can see some ways of altering the traps – it has to be a cage that will be easier to keep clean,” Quinby says.

Japan consumes about 80-90 percent of the total global supply of sea urchins, according to a 2017 report. The worldwide supply of wild sea urchins has diminished over the last few years.

From seed to mature market size, Quinby hopes to have market-size urchins in two years and estimates his first harvest will be in 2023.

“We have a good growth rate with urchins, but they can take longer,” says Quinby. “We’re learning all the time. We’re committed to keeping everything on the bottom, but once we turn them loose, they are part of the landscape. Some of them wander out, but as long as you keep most of them, you should be okay.”

Green Sea urchin broodstock at the Cooperative Agriculture Research facility will provide seed to David Quinby and other farmers in Maine PHOTO: CCAR

The prudent path to success

One of the pioneers of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in raising salmon growouts in British Columbia discusses why small is beautiful when it comes to the use of this technology. A selfdescribed ‘outlier’ in his views about RAS, Steve Atkinson of Taste of BC Aquafarms looks back at the time when RAS emerged in the local scene and discusses why most of his fellow early adopters failed.

RAS technology for salmon growouts is undoubtedly a hot topic these days. Almost every week another pronouncement of a proposed project hits the newswire. According to one source, 73 companies are now in some stage of building Salmon RAS. Taste of BC Aquafarms, they state, is the “latest to the party.” They fail to realize that we are one of the early entrants into the space. In fact, in North America, we are the oldest continuously operated Salmon RAS and one of the very few actually producing fish! I am confident to say that we are the only Salmon RAS in the world that has production levels anywhere close to their stated targets. I have been at the table since some of the earliest discussions on the subject and been part of the ground laying for the new industry.

However, I have been a bit of an outlier in my perspective and my proposed route to establishing this industry. Early on, most of the players were heavily influenced by NGOs with a stated mandate to displace net cage salmon farms. This fact greatly influenced the discussion and largely set the course regarding size and scope of development proposals. My perspective was quite different. I am not an opponent of net cage salmon farming. From my point of view, the development of Salmon RAS is not necessarily tied to the fate of the current industry. I see the development of a new industry that can exist with or without net cage salmon production. Taking that

“From my point of view, the development of Salmon RAS is not necessarily tied to the fate of the current industry.”

perspective, I have looked at how new industries start, not just in aquaculture but industry in general. This is how I chose the scale that I would target: I looked at the current salmon aquaculture industry, which developed in my adulthood. What I saw was that the industry started with a lot of “small” farms owned and operated by entrepreneurs. A typical salmon farm in the 1980s had an annual production of about 100 tons. Most failed and a few succeeded. Those that were successful grew and absorbed the failures. This was not surprising as farming salmon was a whole new game. The reason why few companies dominate that sector now is that so many companies went broke owing money to the feed companies. Those feed companies inherited the bankrupt farms. But this not a history lesson in the salmon industry, so I will move on.

I believe that a Salmon RAS industry can and will be built in an organic fashion as the net cage industry did. I took further clues from terrestrial agriculture and developed a plan that is now being set in place. I believe size does matter; I also believe that proven repeatable results and standardization is the most likely path to success for

this industry. I set out to prove a viable model for a module that could be built over and over again with predictable results. I set out to develop a pilot whose results would be reliable before we moved on to full commercialization. I set out to develop a model for Salmon RAS that could be built almost anywhere, whose capital costs were comparable to terrestrial farming. I looked at chicken farms and found out that almost all chicken farms were similar. Though some were small and some much larger, they shared similar-sized barns. They know what to expect from production. Whether they chose to build a few or many barns, they can expect essentially the same results. What we have developed is precisely that for the Salmon RAS sector. And I believe this is a prudent path to success.

I can’t count how many times it has been said in a conference, workshop or scientific forum that what this industry needs is a success story. Failures have been many. Hundreds of millions have been spent. But like an ad in the 80s once asked, I ask: Where’s the beef? Or, make that: Where’s the salmon? I have sat in conferences over and over where presenters have stated they have solved the problems and now have the solution to growing salmon on land, only to find them gone by the next conference.

There are many grand projections of huge scale Salmon RAS. Today, not one has a proven production system on which they base their projections. The probability of success has been peddled through press releases. I have seen the probability of success for one project rise from 25-30 percent to 40 percent and, just recently, to 60 percent. And yet that operator has produced only 1.66 percent of their targeted annual production! The referenced “leader” has continually had to shift expectations and explain away the fact that they have not met production expectations. Every one of the mega farm proposals feature unique engineered systems. Each one of them new and untested. Maybe one or two of those will ultimately be successful. I do know that success will not come quickly. There is much to prove. I have been down the road and have reached the point where we thought we had things figured out -- only for another curve ball to come our way. Whether an operation is big or small, achieving scientific progress is a challenge. This is the current state of Salmon RAS today; it is still largely a science project.

A decade after first stepping on the road to Salmon RAS, I am more convinced than ever that the success of this industry is hinged on the success of small- to medium-sized operations. We intend to lead the way and we will base our decisions on a proven module.

Steve Atkinson is the president of Taste of BC Aquafarms in Nanaimo BC. Steve set out to develop a small to medium scale model RAS farm in 2012. The farm has now produced over 750,000 lbs of salmon. Taste of BC has recently signed a term sheet proposing to merge with Blue Star Foods Ltd. of Miami Florida (see page 6). Steve describes himself as a chef by trade, a preacher by profession and a fish farmer by default. He regularly presents at trade conferences relating to the farming of salmon on land.

Bold or Shy: Study examines lumpfish ‘personality’

Tests will determine if certain traits affect the species’ efficiency as cleaner fish

Is personality a factor in the efficiency of lumpfish as a cleaner fish?

This is a question that Canadian researchers aim to address after observing that some lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) aggressively preyed on salmon lice, while others preferred the salmon feed, or graze on the pens.

Researchers at Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) St Andrews Biological Station say that “shy” lumpfish means salmon farmers would need to employ more of them in order to effectively reduce sea lice. However, this will result in increased costs for the industry and risks to the wild lumpfish population.

They also want to find out if behaviors – shyness or aggressiveness – are inherited and, if so, could they be used as the basis for a breeding program?

Lumpfish are a biological weapon against sea lice, but certain traits could affect their efficiency, say DFO researchers

The researchers, in collaboration with Cooke Aquaculture, will conduct behavioral tests to assess the individual bold-shyness and social traits and aggression of lumpfish.

“This is a novel approach to study individual behavior and personality of the lumpfish. We are hoping to determine if there are linkages to personality and their efficiency as a cleaner fish,” said DFO biologist Steve Leadbeater.

Behavioral tests

Working closely with postdoctoral fellow Benjamin Whittaker and project partners at the University of Guelph, the group is working to profile lumpfish personality, using behavioral tests widely used on different species of fish.

For the bold-shyness test, each fish is exposed to a novel object such as a plastic brick or a golf ball in an individual tank. Those that interact more frequently with the object are deemed to have a bolder and a more curious personality than individuals avoiding novel objects.

A mirror test will be used to assess individual social behavior and aggression. Individuals avoiding their mirror reflection are deemed less social and those visiting their reflection are deemed more social, with incidents of biting behavior deemed as aggressive.

Personality profiling will be filmed using overhead closed-circuit TV cameras, and each fish will be tested twice to evaluate the repetitiveness of the behavior. The lumpfish will then be grouped into tanks depending on their personality types.

The researchers said data collected in the study could be used in future studies to examine the genetic makeup of various personality profiles of cleaner fish and if these traits are inheritable.

Feeding behavior

The study will then look at the relationship between the lumpfish personality and its success in reducing sea lice load on a salmon host. Lumpfish will be paired with a salmon carrying sea lice, and observed to confirm if the lumpfish consumes lice. This observation will add confidence to the personality assignments.

The study will also look at whether certain traits in the salmon, such as whether they have co-operative behavior that facilitates lice removal by cleaner fish, play a role in the lumpfish feeding efficiency. If some families of salmon show more acceptance of cleaning behavior by lumpfish, can this trait also be used for breeding selection of Atlantic salmon? Groups of lumpfish with personalities expected to be good cleaners, and lice infected salmon, will be placed together in a tank to allow the fish to engage in cleaning behaviors for a period of time. Following this, the average lice load will be assessed to examine the interaction of lumpfish and salmon client.

Seafood advocacy group names new head

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has named the president and CEO of Seattle Fish Company, Derek Figueroa, as chairman.

NFI is a non-profit trade association dedicated to seafood education and advocacy including policy, safety, sustainability, and nutrition. The association and its members support and promote public policy, ranging from responsible wild capture fisheries and aquaculture, to establishing a marketplace supporting free trade, to ensuring the media and consumers have the facts about the benefits of fish and shellfish.

Figueroa says he plans to use his time as Chair to boost member engagement, bring diverse voices together to promote collaboration, and deliver on key impact goals driven by the organization’s strategic plan.

“Seafood has been a driving force in my life for over 30 years. I am proud of the opportunity to work with John (Connelly, NFI President), the talented staff at NFI, my industry colleagues, and other stakeholders to position seafood as the ‘protein of choice’ for consumers” said Figueroa.

“We are excited to have Derek help lead NFI for the next year,” says Connelly. “We have been looking forward to having him at the helm for some time – he brings a passion for seafood, for people and organization development, and for doing the right thing. Those are all essential areas where we really need his guidance in 2021 and looking beyond.”

Aquafeed producer first among peers to have carbon footprint vetted

Skretting Italy launched last year an aquaculture feed called Feed4Future that’s produced with 10-percent lower CO2 emissions.

While many other feed companies have made progress in developing more-sustainable feed formulas, for instance by reducing the feed’s fish meal or fish oil content, Skretting Italy says it is the first among its peers to have the carbon footprint of its feed portfolio independently certified.

Skretting plans to roll out globally the carbon certification program initiated at its Italian feed production facility

PHOTO: SKRETTING

The ISO 14067:2018 certification was conducted by Norway-based risk management and assurance group DNV GL, and covers the entire production process, from raw material procurement, through formulation, and to final product dispatch through the factory gates.

Skretting said that having certified carbon footprint figures on its feed would “help fish farmers to calculate their own carbon footprint and understand ways in which it can be reduced.”

Carbon footprint certification is just one of the many initiatives to improve the aquaculture industry’s sustainability. Skretting plans to roll out globally the carbon certification program initiated at its Italian facility.

USDA funds development of fish-free feed for rainbow trout

Professors Pallab Sarker and Anne Kapuscinski of the University of California-Santa Cruz received a $496,000-grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support the development of a more sustainable feed for rainbow trout.

The scientists are looking at replicating the success they had with the fish-free tilapia feed (see story on page 5).

They chose rainbow trout feed as their next subject because it is the most widely cultivated cold freshwater finfish in the world and also “an important model for all farmed salmonids, which dominate finfish aquaculture,” said Sarker.

He acknowledged that several leading aquafeed and ingredients companies have recently started including DHA-rich oil from microalgae into salmon feeds. Among these are AlgaPrime DHA, an algae-based source of long-chain Omega-3s from Dutch biotech company Corbion, and Veramaris’ algae-derived oil.

Sarker is looking at replacing traditional fishmeal or fish oil ingredients with several types of oil-rich and protein-rich marine microalgae. “One type would be microalgal co-product that is a waste product left over after Omega-3, called EPA, has been extracted for use in human nutritional supplements,” he said.

Experiments are now underway, including testing various processing methods for manufacturing new microalgal co-product protein meal.

“The results will characterize nutrient and anti-nutrient levels in processed co-product protein meal. This will fill a knowledge gap important for encouraging the aquafeed industry to use this new protein ingredient,” he said.

The rainbow trout were scheduled to be stocked into the tanks at UCSC’s new recirculating aquaculture facility this past February, where digestibility experiments will be conducted.

Please contact Jeremy Thain: jthain@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel. +1-250-474-3982

New NFI chairman

Derek Figueroa to help position seafood as consumers’ ‘protein of choice’

Professors Pallab Sarker (at right) at UCSC’s new recirculating aquaculture facility, where he will test the digestibility of microalgal co-product protein meal on rainbow trout PHOTO: UCSC

SMARTFLOW

DENSITY CONTROL

COUNTING AND GRADING REPORT

VAKI SMARTFLOW

HIGHER QUALITY OF OPERATIONS

The SmartFlow System uses software to gather and store information about all measured fish for easy comparison. SmartFlow facilitates the optimization of every operation, as it helps all devices in the VAKI product line to be controlled and fine-tuned to refine the desired output .