Pacifico Aquaculture
Off the shores of Baja, California, Pacifico Aquaculture is perfecting the process of producing ocean-raised striped bass with the highest-caliber credentials an operation can earn from the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices program.
The company – which was started in 2010 by Rex Ito, a former bluefin tuna wrangler, and Daniel Farag and Omar Alfi, two former Wall Street hotshots – has checked off a lot of firsts: it’s the only striped bass producer to hold 4-star BAP status, and it runs the only hatchery dedicated to the species in the world. It’s also become the first marine finfish company in Mexico to earn such BAP approval, according to the company’s website.
In 2019, the firm brought its direct sales and nationwide logistics capabilities in-house as it expanded. The growth, however, did not detract from Pacifico’s main driver: sustainability.
“Expansion of this scale is very exciting, but it hasn’t changed our mission. Sustainability is a core tenet of Pacifico,” Alfi said last year. “The DNA of this company is responsibility. Responsibility for the fish that we raise, the surrounding environment, our employees, their families, the community and our customers.”
Pacifico Aquaculture recently shared with SeafoodSource some of the trends propelling its next steps in breaking the sustainability mold, including a continued focus on responsible feed development.
