The Velella Mariculture Research Project

The Velella Mariculture Research Project is testing an unachored drifter pen in Federal waters (3-150 miles offshore) off the Big Island of Hawaii. This innovative form of mariculture - growing fish in the open ocean - uses cutting edge technology and leaves no environmental footprint. The Velella Project could revolutionize sustainable aquaculture.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• mariculture
• open ocean aquaculture
• offshore aquaculture
• fish farm
• fish farming
• drifter pen
• sustainable aquaculture
• ocean ecosystem
• kampachi
• Kampachi Farms
• Velella
• Hawaii
• Big Island
• seafood production
• marine fish
• aquafeed

[VelellaProject]

The key with mariculture - as with any food production - is to ensure that you strike a balance which accounts for the ecosystem's abilities to assimilate any impacts. When a system ranges between 7 and 75 miles offshore, and has no measureable impacts, then there will be a tremendous assimilative capacity of the ocean. We would never imply that it is unlimited ... and so care must be used in scaling up .... but it is far lower impact than for any land-based protein production system.

[VelellaProject]

We ascribe to the Rio Summit definition of sustainability - a system that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

[jedhands]

The cage(s) used here are Aquapods. Designed and built in Maine, Aquapods are secure, easy to use, adaptable to support the growth of different marine species, and scalable for different sizes of operations. A small Aquapod can be assembled and used by one or two people, and rolled by hand in and out of the water, whereas larger Aquapods require equipment such as cranes. For more information, look up Oceanfarmtech.

[Geowsullivan]

Bucky Fuller would be proud... Another use of the geodesic dome.

[Geowsullivan]

Bucky Fuller would be proud... Another use of the geodesic dome.

[BarbarianUtopia]

Please explain how you define sustainable. I do not understand how you can depreciate your productive capital, clean water, and not account for it. Somebody, of some marine organism will have to pick up the tab outside the pens. As long as that cost goes unaccounted for open ocean aquaculture looks profitable, but not sustainable.

"We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality." Ayn Rand

[michaelalbert]

Neil Sims, his colleagues and partners, have pushed technology and research -driven insight to produce a sustainable supply of healthy, desirable fish with minimal imp lace on the environment without possible negative impact from its environment. In a word, amazing. With over a billion people securing their primary source of protein from seafood, sustainable mariculture methodology is the best known solution to feeding an ever hungry world without damaging our waters and its inhabitants.