New technology in open water fish farming

[naturelover]

I don't know if there's any open water fish farmers on the board but this may be interesting news for all fish farmers anyway.

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/l...shColumbiaHome

By: ctvbc.ca
Date: Wednesday Jul. 6, 2011 3:40 PM PT

The people behind Canada's first closed-containment fish farm are hoping the $14-million pilot project will address some of the most serious environmental concerns about aquaculture.

AgriMarine's new 3,000-cubic-metre tank near Campbell River, B.C. is separated from the waters of the Strait of Georgia by solid walls, and all wastes are collected, pumped to shore, spun dry and composted.

"It's definitely a large step forward from what the current state of the art is in this industry," said Rob Walker, vice-president of AgriMarine.
"We'd like to think it's the future. We've certainly answered a lot of the areas of controversy and have come out with a pretty solid business plan based on the advantages."

The hope is that the 54,000 young Chinook salmon in the federally-funded tank will be healthier than farm-grown animals raised in nets, and won't escape or be lost to predators.

Environmentalists have fought against traditional net-based fish farms for years, arguing that the practice pollutes the water, leads to disease and can result in risky escapes of non-local species or diseased fish.
But activists are coming on-side with the new closed-containment system.

"It is hopefully a model for what will happen in the future. This is where we want this industry to go," said John Werring at the David Suzuki Foundation.

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[VERN in IL]

Raised fish taste different than "free range" fish.

[Ross]

Wouldn't they be feedlot fish? Seriously it does look like a better way to farm fish.

[naturelover]

You can't tell from the picture but that tank is huge. I was watching the tv interview and they showed 10 men standing together on the catwalk and they looked like dots in comparison to the tank.

Originally Posted by VERN in IL

Raised fish taste different than "free range" fish.

Free range salmon do taste different from farmed - they taste better, they have a richer flavour and the flesh is firmer with a darker color. Thing is though, when there's no more free range fish available anymore nobody will care or even notice much difference in the flavour of farmed fish and people will still want to eat fish.

.

[fishhead]

A large portion of the salmon we buy as 'wild' are actually ranched. They hatch the eggs in a hatchery, raise the fry and smolts on artificial feed in raceways and then release them into the ocean. When they return to spawn they are netted.