Another three-day whirlwind, now known as Seafood Expo North America, is complete. You can only be in so many places at once inside the bustling Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, but the last event I attended is the one that left the biggest impression. And to think, I almost skipped it.
On day three, the conference session Seafood — The Next Ten Years was a goldmine for a seafood reporter. Apologies to half of the panel, because I was a late arrival after conducting some show-floor interviews, but I’m glad I showed up. Better late than never.
Chuck Anderson, director of retail for Pier Fish in New Bedford, Mass., showed the audience images of something most of us likely had never envisioned. The largest inflatable dome structure in the world, according to Anderson, is not a football stadium — it’s a shrimp farm in Texas. Global Blue Technologies’ shrimp farm in Taft, Texas, is a zero-discharge facility that can produce 50- to 60-gram (U-8) shrimp in just 22 to 26 weeks. Anderson had recently visited the facility and came away impressed (10 years of R&D and USD 80 million went into this operation). We’ll be exploring this innovative site in more depth in the near future because it could spark major changes in the way shrimp is produced while addressing some of the industry’s biggest criticisms.
Daniel Benetti, Ph.D., professor at the University of Miami and the director of the school’s marine studies program, followed Anderson with some unbridled optimism about the future of aquaculture in the United States. Benetti said we do not lack the technology to farm popular species like mahimahi, cobia, pompano, seriola and even yellowfin tuna on a commercial scale in the Gulf of Mexico. Referring to Alaska’s salmon fishery as the largest and most successful aquaculture operation in the world — stating that 70 percent of all Alaska salmon that end up in fishermen’s nets were born in a hatchery — Benetti says that model could be replicated in the Gulf for key species like red snapper, although the Gulf presents major challenges for full-scale aquaculture. The question is, will the region embrace such a leap forward?
And in the same session, Henry Clifford, VP of AquaBounty Technologies in Maynard, Mass., took on critics of genetically modified (GM) foods and the company’s AquAdvantage salmon, which grows to market size in 18 months, roughly half the time of conventional farmed Atlantic salmon. It’s been 25 years since the genesis of this technology, which has not yet cleared the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s numerous hurdles. Clifford confidently stated that “we cannot afford to not implement new technology” in the production of seafood for a global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. Seafood production will have to double by then, he said, before taking the gloves off and addressing detractors of GM salmon.
Why hasn’t AquAdvantage passed the agency’s rigorous approval process? Clifford isolated activists backed by the organic food industry as well as political influences he described as “protectionists” in Alaska, “clueless idealists” in California and “vulture law firms profiting off biotech.” If you missed this session, put together by industry veteran Phil Walsh, VP of Alfa Gamma Seafood in Miami, start kicking yourself now.
I asked Clifford if there are any countries besides Panama to embrace the company’s cutting-edge technology and allow inland production, and his answer was “not yet but there will be.” He’s right about that. Whatever ventures opt to take on this technology — not to mention the media and environmental-activist heat that will surely accompany it — will most likely make a bundle of money. Will we be looking back on this regulatory process in a decade and asking why so many obstacles were put in front of it? I’m far more comfortable asking that question than answering it.
Opinions are opinions, and facts are facts, so here’s one key takeaway. In the very near future, perhaps as soon as this year or next, there will be more farmed seafood consumed by humans than fish harvested in the wild. The choice has been made, and aquaculture is here to stay. The choice is yours, whether to support the latest technological advances or not. Just know this: Someone will.
