BOSTON, Nov. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — InnovaSea Systems announced today that it has acquired by Canada based Amirix Systems. Amirix is the parent company of Bedford Nova Scotia based Vemco and Realtime Aquaculture and Seattle Washington based HTI-Vemco.
PHYS.ORG: A new analysis suggests that open-ocean aquaculture for three species of finfish is a viable option for industry expansion under most climate change scenarios – an option that may provide a new source of protein for the world’s growing population.
This modeling study found that the warming of near-shore surface waters would shift the range of many species toward the higher latitudes – where they would have better growth rates – but even in areas that will be significantly warmer, open-ocean aquaculture could survive because of adaptation techniques including selective breeding.
PHOTO COURTESY OF: OPEN BLUE
By: Virginia Gewin
April 20, 2017 — Editor’s note: This story was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, a non-profit investigative news organization.
Harlon Pearce walks muck-booted past processors gutting wild drum and red snapper to showcase a half-full new 5,000-square-foot (500-square-meter) freezer he hopes will someday house a fresh boom of marine fish. Harlon’s LA Fish sits just across the railroad tracks from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, perfectly positioned to ship fish out of Louisiana.
As president of the New Orleans–based Gulf Seafood Institute, seafood supplier Pearce is a big fish himself in these parts, connected to fishermen, federal agencies, restaurateurs and even the oil industry. He knows better than anyone that wild fisheries alone can’t supply U.S. consumers’ growing demand for fish. Which is why he’s doing his best to bring everyone to the table to achieve one goal: farming the Gulf of Mexico.
SEAFOOD EXPO NORTH AMERICA 2017
By Madelyn Kearns, Editor
Published on Sunday, March 19, 2017
Fishpeople Seafood and Open Blue were announced as the winners of the 2017 Seafood Excellence Awards today, 19 March, at the Seafood Expo North / Seafood Processing North America event in Boston, Massachusetts. Fishpeople won the “Best New Retail” award for its Seafood Meyer Lemon & Herb Panko Wild Alaska Salmon Kit, and Open Blue won the “Best New Foodservice” award for its Frozen Open Blue Cobia Fillet.
A panel of judges comprised of seafood buyers and industry experts from the retail and foodservice sectors selected the winners following a live tasting of product finalists during the exposition. The judges included James Leduc, Purchasing Manager at US Foods/All American Foods, Jason Resner, Vice President of Meat & Seafood Merchandising at Price Chopper/MARKET32, and Marc Warsetsky, Director of Product Innovation at Captain D’s.
Product uniqueness and appropriateness to the market, taste profile, market potential, convenience, nutritional value and originality were all factors considered by the judges when selecting the Seafood Excellence Awards winners.
Competition finalists were chosen through a screening process involving products being featured in the Seafood Expo North America New Product Showcase, which includes an array of condiments and culinary dishes launched in the past year by exhibiting companies.
Seafood Expo North America, which is produced by Diversified Communications, is North America’s largest seafood trade event, welcoming more than 21,600 seafood professionals from more than 100 countries and over 1,340 exhibiting companies to Boston this year from 19 to 21 March.
Fishpeople is exhibiting at Seafood Expo North America at Booth No. 2745, and Open Blue can be found at Booth No. 1859.
SEAFOODSOURCE.COM
By Cliff White, Editor
Published on Thursday, September 01, 2016
A collaboration between Mexican governmental agencies and marine aquaculture firm Earth Ocean Farms is aiming to improve the plight of the totoaba, an endangered fish valued in Asia for its supposed medicinal properties.
Officials from Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and National Commission of Aquaculture and Fishing (CONAPESCA) released 15,000 totoaba hatchlings raised at Earth Ocean Farms into the Sea of Cortez on Thursday, 25 August, with the goal of recovering the depleted numbers of the species. The public restocking event took place in the Santispac Beach, Bahia Concepcion, Mulege, Baja California Sur.
According to Earth Ocean Farms, the totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) is an endemic species to Mexico that was once abundant in the waters of the Sea of Cortez and is now being bred and cultivated in a sustainable manner by the company, which has a hatchery and farms located in La Paz.
“This restocking project is part of an innovative plan for the recovery of the totoaba, create jobs, and diversify the state’s economy,” the company said in a press release.
Mexico’s Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Rafael Pacchiano Alamán said in a statement he was encouraged by the collaboration between government and industry on behalf of the environment.
THE ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD
By KEVIN WADLOW
Florida Keys Keynoter
Offshore fish farms could soon be raising native species in Gulf of Mexico waters.
Beginning in early February, commercial marine farmers can begin seeking permits from the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A rule issued Jan. 11 authorizes NOAA Fisheries to issue up to 20 Gulf aquaculture permits for waters at least nine miles from Florida’s gulf shoreline. That apparently includes waters north of the Florida Keys.
No fish farms will be permitted in Gulf waters protected by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary or Everglades National Park.
The aquaculture proposal was endorsed by the federal Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. NOAA staff has worked on the plan for more than five years.
“Examples of allowable species include red drum, cobia, jacks, snappers and groupers,” says an aquaculture summary.
“As demand for seafood continues to rise, aquaculture presents a tremendous opportunity not only to meet this demand, but also to increase opportunities for the seafood industry and job creation,” NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan said in a statement.
Currently there are no other commercial finfish or shellfish operations operating in federal waters.
“Expanding U.S. aquaculture in federal waters complements wild harvest fisheries and supports our efforts to maintain sustainable fisheries and resilient oceans,” Sullivan said.
Hawaii has “open-ocean aquaculture technologies, including submersible cages” in its state waters.
Species raised in Gulf of Mexico farms must be native species in case of escape or intermingling with wild populations.
Concerns raised previously about offshore aquaculture have focused on possible pollution and spread of fish diseases to wild populations. The NOAA report says those situations will be continuously monitored, and operations must avoid sites considered as essential habitat.
Previous attempts to raise snapper commercially in enclosed water bodies in the Keys have not proven financially feasible.
According to federal estimates, Gulf fish farms have the potential to raise nearly 13 million pounds of food fish annually.