Pine Island Redfish recently harvested its first batch of red drum from its recirculating aquaculture system facility (RAS), and is now looking to work towards year-round production by expanding to a larger facility.
The company, founded by Megan Sorby, is working to develop a commercial land-based aquaculture facility for red drum on Pine Island, located in the U.S. state of Florida. Its first harvests were out of a small facility in Sarasota, Florida at a demonstration facility, and those first fish went on sale in Publix stores in the state.
Sorby told SeafoodSource during Seafood Expo North America – which ran from 16 to 18 March in Boston, Massachusetts – that featuring the company’s fish in Publix was a great “full circle” moment. During the Global Seafood Market Conference in January 2024, Publix Supermarkets Seafood Director Guy Pizzuti said he was interested in carrying the product” in the store when it was ready for sale.
“To be able to follow through on that, particularly with a partner that’s as strong as Publix, is really exciting,” Sorby said. “They’ve offered us an opportunity to put our brand out there, to connect with the retail customer, so they get the sense of not just ‘hey here’s the redfish you’re familiar with,’ but ‘here’s the story of how this redfish was grown.’”
The redfish farming is just one half of the company’s success – it has also helped contribute to repopulating mangrove forests along the Florida coast. Using the nutrients from the farm, Pine Island Redfish has fueled the growth of over 5,000 mangrove trees that are being planted at restoration projects across the Gulf coast in the next six months.
Currently, the demonstration facility is capable of producing 10 metric tons (MT) of red drum a year. Sorby said the company is in the process of working on a much larger 800 MT facility...
