NatGeo show to feature Kampachi project 

A research project by Hawaii-based aquaculture firm Kampachi Farms will be featured on an episode of “Alien Deep” on the National Geographic Channel at 8 p.m. EST on Monday, 17 September.

The “Velella” Research Project tested an an innovative form of open ocean mariculture, raising kampachi fish in a pen drifting on ocean currents three to 75 miles off the coast of the Big Island. The project was successfully completed in February 2012, with results far exceeding expectations.

The show stars Bob Ballard, deep sea explorer and Titanic discoverer who visited the Velella site in Hawaii last fall, when the projecdt was in full swing. The episode is titled “Inner vs. Outer Space” and airs at 8 p.m. ET.

“The fish thrived in the research net pen far from shore, with phenomenal growth rates and superb fish health… and without any negative impact on water quality, the ocean floor, wild fish or marine mammals,” Neil Anthony Sims, co-CEO of Kampachi Farms, said.

The project was partially funded by the Illinois soybean checkoff program, which is a major supporter of innovative aquaculture technology and feed research. The kampachi fish were fed a sustainable diet, with soy and other agricultural proteins replacing a significant amount of fishmeal and fish oil. The project caught the attention of Ballard, who believes that farming the oceans is one solution to feeding the populace of earth. As these were the first farmed fish raised in U.S. federal waters, the Velella project represents a significant step forward in developing the open ocean aquaculture industry in the U.S.

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