Recirculating aquaculture systems are going mainstream

Launched in October 2018, Aquaculture Frontiers is a series of six reports, set out to identify the disruptive innovations that can change the shape of the aquaculture industry.

Written by Undercurrent News contributor and industry consultant Matt Craze via Spheric Research, the series aims to cover the key topics in aquaculture innovation.

In this first installment, the series explores recirculating aquaculture (RAS), before looking specifically at innovations in the salmon and shrimp industries, the two most valuable species in aquaculture (the subject of Parts 2 and 3). In the fourth part, the authors analyze farmed whitefish segments, from tilapia to seabream and seabass in the Mediterranean. The fifth and final chapter will be dedicated to aquaculture finance, amid a growing base of investors who are getting involved in the industry. 

RAS: From money drain to savior

Published on Oct. 22, 2018, Can RAS Turbocharge Aquaculture? is our series' first chapter.

Long considered a sure way to lose money, RAS might just be the fastest growing segment in the aquaculture industry right now.

Norway’s salmon farmers, amid an escalating sea lice problem, are building massive new hatcheries and spending hundreds of millions to put bigger smolt in the sea and short ocean cycles. Some innovators have taken RAS advancements a step further and plan to grow harvest size salmon in RAS.

Atlantic Sapphire, a leader of this movement, has the backing of several major banks and is embarked on an audacious, multi-stage project to supply a massive 90,000 metric tons a year from a state-of-the-art facility near Miami. Nordic Aquafarms and Whole Oceans plan two mega-farms in the state of Miami, close to major consumption centers in Boston and New York. The successful execution of Atlantic Sapphire could unlock the vaults to major new sources of finances for RAS grow-out facilities.

Globally, a RAS evolution is well underway, as the technology has been proven at many levels. RAS has the potential to revive major and once-lived species that have become almost extinct, from Atlantic halibut to beluga sturgeon.

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This first report, 39 pages long, includes: 

• How Norway’s salmon industry is revolutionizing the RAS industry
• How Atlantic Sapphire’s success is key for other players to get finance
• How Russia is turning to RAS to revive its once grand caviar industry (we visited one major facility in Transnistria to find out more)
• Insights from speaking with major players in the Chinese RAS industry
• Insight from turnkey RAS suppliers including Billund Aquaculture and Pentair 
• A visit to the Freshwater Institute in West Virginia and the sites of the future salmon megafarms in Maine to provide first-hand information 
• Information from industry conferences, from AquaNor and AquaSur to the Seafood Expo North America
• Interviews with dozens of salmon farmers, RAS specialists, academics, scientists and entrepreneurs

The report also leverages the in-depth reporting of Undercurrent News, including site visits to the Atlantic Sapphire project in Florida and Sino Agro Food in Guangdong, China.

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