Obzor

THE FUTURE OF AQUACULTURE IS OFFSHORE MASSIVE MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

The 7th Offshore Mariculture Conference 2017 is currently taking place in Ensenada, Baja
California, Mexico. The highly technical conference draws international leaders, innovators
and academics within the field of aquaculture. As per industry professionals, the key
takeaways from the first two days are: the future lies in offshore; food production to meet
the global demand; accessibility on any scale; minimal environmental impact; and
sustainability. Shifting aquaculture offshore ticks all the right boxes in terms of efficiency and
environment – but there are still barriers.

“Aquaculture must still up its game,” commented the Director General of the Fisheries and
Aquaculture Department of the FAO, Árni Mathiesen, speaking via a video link to participants
in Ensenada at the opening session on recent developments in the industry. “This is a
modern industry and there's still much to learn. Sub-Saharan Africa needs more fish.
Investment and capacity are needed.”

The calibre of speakers at the Offshore Mariculture Conference is reflected in the support
from high level government and fisheries ministries. Among those in the presidium were the
Mayor of Ensenada, Marco Antonio Novelo Osuna; Director General of INAPESCA and
conference chairman, Pablo Arenas Fuentes; Flavio Diaz Miron Alvarez of SAGARPA; and the
Governor of Baja California Francisco Arturo Vega de Lamadrid.

The State Governor for Baja California, Francisco Vega de Lamadrid opened the conference
thanking the local ministries INAPESCA, CONAPESCA, SEPESCA as well as the World
Aquaculture Society for their support, and expressed the honour that Mexico feels to be the
first host outside of Europe. The Governor was most excited to hear the presentations from
farms in the local area who have experienced great success in the aquaculture industry,
which is particularly lucrative in Ensenada.

Fish farming potential

Mathiesen referenced the state of food supply in current times, stating that “the world has
embarked in its most ambitious plan to date: to eradicate hunger and poverty”. The FAO is
committed to helping its member countries to meet their growing demand for food in a
sustainable manner. The segment also highlighted that need that aquaculture needs to be
accessible on any scale.

The potential for offshore aquaculture is huge, in America and around the world. During the
segment, ‘Offshore Aquaculture in the Americas’, it was highlighted by Neil Sims, co-Founder
and co-CEO of Kampachi Farms LC and Founding President of the Ocean Stewards Institute,
that the transition of using more innovative farms into exposed waters should expand
incrementally.
Totoaba has huge potential, raised at a remote location in the Sea of Cortez by Earth Ocean
Farms, which supplies it to the domestic market. As an endangered species, it cannot be
exported unless a CITES permit is obtained for it –which would open it to the Asian market.

Yellowtail is an increasingly important species for mariculture, in demand for sashimi, and it’s
one of the high-value species poised for a breakthrough as one of the big cultured species.
Baja Sea raises yellowtail, going from a standing start to proof of its concept in just two years.

Baja Aqua Farms works with wild-caught Bluefin caught by its purse seiners, which is then
raised in its cages not far from Ensenada. The company has established significant presence,
with a rolling programme of production, as well as seasonal frozen production with a
Japanese vessel chartered to take its fish direct to the Japanese market.

Maya Fish has established itself on the eastern side of Mexico, coping with the challenges of
offshore mariculture in the Gulf of Mexico to raise red drum for the US market with
production encompassing all stages of the process from hatchery to fattening in deep water
and processing.

Nutrition – farmed vs. wild

Mathiesen warned that the sector must avoid producing products that are not as nutritious
as wild-caught fish.

“Among the main limitations that tuna ranching faces, current feeding practices are not only
impractical and largely unsustainable but they pose ecological risks that require immediate
attention.” says Dr Alejandro Buentello. He continued, “Reasons for switching tuna from
baitfish feeding to formulated diet – 1.7 times more economical than baitfish, available
throughout the year, prevents pathogen activation.” A formulated diet is better for the
environment, nutritionally dense, sustainable, more efficient – and more cost-effective, he
said.

According to Allen Davis, the future is in soya, commenting that with a world availability of
6.7 million tonnes of fishmeal, compared to a global production of 270 million tonnes of
soya, there is no doubt where the future lies.

Offshore mariculture is pushing the boundaries

Sims reflected that offshore mariculture is pushing the boundaries – quite literally pushing
them over the horizon. Sims continued, “The industry needs to show investors success and
scale. Offshore aquaculture works - and works really well. It has improved performance,
excellent parasite control, minimal environmental impact,” he said, commenting that less
stressed fish in better health are all great for the bottom line.
DAY TWO: Key takeaways

Massive market opportunities

It was clear from the presentations that the market needs some education in terms of quality
and responsible production – buyers are still reluctant to accept that farmed fish is as good
as wild-caught fish, even though it has much in its favour, including control over production,
proper handling and is killed and processed properly.

Rex Ito comments “Logistics can make the difference between making and losing money,” he
said, commenting that handling can be the difference between a shelf life of weeks and just
days. “Quality product and repeat performance is what we're looking for.”

Victor Pak stressed that supply must be constant. There is no option to not supply. “If there’s
a war, there’s a war. But you still have to supply that fish,” he said.

Investment in aquaculture

Robert Orr of Cuna Del Mar stated that for aquaculture to grow, the Norwegian model is the
ideal, with its alignment between the private sector, government and academia – and the
bottom line is that the world is going to need more protein. These sectors need to come
together for that to become reality.

“There are massive opportunities for Mexico, and for the US and Canada if regulatory issues
can be solved,” he said, and threw in a few figures illustrating how far China has gone in this
direction, with 6000 cages offshore already and a 200,000gt former tanker operating as a
floating fish farm village. He commented that cobia alone has the potential to be twenty
times the size of the salmon industry.

“Access to finance and government policy are the two big challenges,” he said. “It's not a
50,000-tonne issue – it's a 50-million tonne issue.”

“Growth is going to come from aquaculture,” Omar Alfi, commenting that they looked
carefully at the business model. “This business is a lot harder than we expected.… It's a game
about quality and price, and constant production is critical.”

Offshore technology

Rodrigo Sánchez’s vision of open ocean aquaculture begins with copper alloy cages that offer
challenges and opportunities, providing advantages. He believes firmly in open ocean
aquaculture, and has a vision of ships capable of following cages deployed in the open sea,
moving aquaculture away from coastal zones where more than 90% of aquaculture currently
takes place. The vision is for a 60m vessel consisting of a system of copper alloy cages that
can spend several weeks at sea, capable of growing salmon, trout, cobia, tuna or seriola in its
cages, with capacity for 450 tonnes of fish. Smart Units are made for mussels and are
designed not to need anything to be taken out of the water. Bjørn Aspøy explained that the
harvesting machine is the key to the system, and can be deployed from a boat or built into a
catamaran.
The Offshore Mariculture Conference Mexico has broken the curve. The participants have
discussed ground breaking innovation, while the style of the conference has been heralded a
success by attendees who enjoyed the balanced programme and the networking
opportunities.

Offshore Mariculture Conference is a unique opportunity for businesses looking to develop

their technical expertise in the mariculture industry, while investors and fish farmers will
greatly benefit from the networking opportunities to develop operations in the central
America region. Ideally located in Ensenada, Baja California, travelling to this event is easy
from San Diego and Tijuana. Held over five days, the conference and technical visits offer
great value for delegates.