Ocean fish farms

NC researchers looking to raise ocean fish in farms
Associated Press McDowellnews.com 18 Jan 08;

"I see marine aquaculture developing much like the swine or poultry industry. Seafood is the last wild product left."

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. - North Carolina scientists hoping to relieve pressure on the dwindling supply of ocean fish and boost the coast's economy are looking into ways to raise ocean fish in tanks.

But it could be tricky. Just as salt water aquariums are more difficult to maintain than freshwater tanks, raising ocean fish is more complicated, scientists said. Ocean fish eggs are smaller and more fragile than those from freshwater fish, and difficult to cultivate.

Scientists are taking on the challenge at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and North Carolina State University.

In Wrightsville Beach, they've converted a former water desalinization plant into laboratory. Southern flounder and black sea bass _ two of the most commercially promising species _ swim in heated and cooled tanks of sea water. Their experimental diet includes plankton, soy meal pellets or other alternative protein sources.

So far, it's having some success. At the local Bridge Tender restaurant, chef John Howell recently featured the sea bass as a special, stuffed with crab and topped with salsa.

"We sold out of them in two nights," Howell said. "It was sweet."

If successful on a larger scale, such farms could meet the increasing demand for fish among health-conscious consumers and create a new agriculture industry along the North Carolina coast, researchers said.

"We're at a stage where we've answered a lot of research questions," said Daniel Baden, director of the Center for Marine Science at UNC-Wilmington. "We're starting to bridge academics with industrial interactions."

Underwater agriculture, or aquaculture, is the fastest growing source of food production, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. About 70 percent of the fish consumed in the U.S. is imported, largely from fish farms in other countries to supplement wild harvests.

The NOAA, at the forefront of efforts to make the U.S. more self-sufficient in seafood, has helped fund the aquaculture research at N.C. State and UNC-Wilmington. The agency also supports efforts at universities in Texas, Georgia and New Hampshire.

"What is going on in North Carolina is an important component of this overall puzzle," said Michael Rubino, manager of NOAA's aquaculture program. "They've come very fast in a very short time. We have the technology, but are trying to prove it on the commercial scale. I wouldn't say it's quite at the commercial success stage."

Ted Davis is trying to push the research in that direction, but it won't be cheap.

A principal in Aquaplantations, a Wilmington company formed to develop farms, Davis estimates that a farm with a re-circulating water system capable of producing 100,000 pounds of fish would cost $700,000.

Working with university researchers, Davis provided some tanks and equipment to the aquaculture center to said sea bass and plans to build a farm on an eight-acre site. Some fish have been sold, Davis said, and he expects to have more marketable fish in about 18 months.

"I would like to be a part of launching an industry for the state," he said. "I see marine aquaculture developing much like the swine or poultry industry. Seafood is the last wild product left.

"You don't go out and kill a turkey or pig. It's grown. In order for us to have seafood, there is going to have to be an agriculture system."

Original story in the News&Observer