Mussels for Muscles

Mussels are one of the world’s most perfect foods.  They are extremely high in proteins, calcium and iron, an excellent source of selenium and Vitamin 12, and a good source of zinc and folic acid, while low in fat and calories.  Mussels are also the best shellfish for your heart, containing the highest amount of omega-3s - the naturally occurring fatty acid that lowers blood pressure.  According to the USDA, a 3.5-ounce portion of mussel contains 95 calories, 14.4 grams of protein and 2.2 grams of fat.  By contrast, a T-bone steak contains 395 calories, 14.7 grams of protein, and 37.1 grams of fat.  Could mussels also become a staple for building muscles?America needs a campaign for promoting the benefits of cultured mussels that are by far the best value for the seafood dollar.  These bivalve shellfish produce affordable protein and are a renewable resource.  A campaign for fresh mussels providing a price point matching the economic recession and should be promoted in the context of health and sustainability.  This, coupled with locally produced from pristine offshore waters could cause market growth for mussels reaching consumption levels in other parts of the world.  Per-capita consumption is significantly lower in America than in Europe.  Mussels were one of the first seafood success stories and remain one of the most reliable cultured shellfish farmed on both coasts of the United States as well as in China and Europe.  Most farmers here use the “rope” or “raft” culture in which small mussels are seeded in mesh tubes, suspended from heavy lines in coastal bays.  The mussels require little attention as they feed on drifting plankton, and harvesting is a simple matter of pulling up the lines and stripping off the mussels.  

Global mussel production is about 2 million metric tons worth over $1 billion dollars and U. S. consumption is skyrocketing.   Americans import about 42 million pounds or about 10 times what we produce.  2010 was a milestone for the mussel industry in Canada surpassing New Zealand for the first time in exports to the U.S. worth $27.4 million, up from $26.7 million in 2009.  Canada supplies 99 percent of fresh-farmed mussels to the U.S. market with the majority imported 4,000 miles away via expensive airfreight from Prince Edward Island, which also has unfavorable exchange rates making locally farmed shellfish more competitive.  Wild mussels grow slower than farmed and can take seven to twelve years to reach 2 ½ inches and tend to be inconsistent sizes with imperfect shells.  Harvesting from intertidal beds of older, wild mussels, has led to quality problems.  Wild mussels grow on the bottom, where they are vulnerable to crabs, starfish, and other predators.  As a natural defense mechanism they grow a tougher and thicker shell.  Farmed mussels are suspended above the ocean bottom and out of reach from predators so they spend more time and energy growing body mass instead of growing shell.  The result is a mussel with a lighter shell and plumper, tenderer meat for better food value and higher meat to shell ratio than the wild variety.  In contrast to shellfish harvested from intertidal congested and polluted bays and estuaries, open ocean farming harvests shellfish from anchored longlines in pristine offshore waters.  The abundance of plankton and algae from upwelling provide shellfish food for rapid growth and the cool water currents deter disease.   The mussel most widely cultured in eastern North America is the blue mussel named for its solidly blue-black shell, or occasional brown shell.  This species occurs naturally on both sides of the Atlantic.  The Mediterranean mussel has been introduced by humans to coastal marine environments throughout the world and is not considered a new invasive species.  They are larger, faster growing and has greater meat content than the Blue mussel (50% vs. 35%) and they are more tolerant to heat and salinity.  Among other locations, the Mediterranean mussel favors offshore oil platforms, where it can produce a substantial crop.  

Back in the late 1980s, Ecomar Marine Consulting harvested up to 500,000 pounds of mussels a year from 12 platforms in Southern California owned by five oil companies.  The Mediterranean mussel is also easy to farm, and it offers a distinct advantage to Northwestern mussel growers.  Oddly enough, given the names, the Baltic mussels are susceptible to dying on a large scale in winter; however, Mediterranean mussels survive the winter temperatures just fine.  But an even bigger advantage for the Mediterranean has to do with its spawning cycle, which influences eating quality.  Like other bivalves, mussels are in their best eating condition during the six months or so preceding their spawning season, and at their poorest, during and just after, spawning.  Spawning time varies by species and location; with the Eastern mussels and the Baltic type on the West Coast spawning in early summer, and offering their best quality from late fall through spring.  Mediterranean mussels, on the other hand, spawn in winter, and are in their prime in the summer, just when the others are pulled off the market.  By the time July rolls around, they are at their peak, mild and sweet.  Thin shell farmed mussels can contain as much as 60 percent edible yield.  The orange mussels are female and the white mussels are male.   There is little difference in taste between the two, and it as always a pleasant surprise to see what you find on your plate.

Open Ocean Cage Shrimp Farming

The global shrimp market weighs in around 6 million tons annually generating about $13 billion of the total $50 billion global mariculture industry.  Shrimp are diverse sea creatures found in nearly all geographical regions of the world and thrive in habitats ranging from tropical estuaries to the open ocean.  Industrial shrimp farming began in 1980 and jumped to five percent of global shrimp production in a mere two years.  By 1990 farming produced 25 percent and the boom has continued so that today 60 percent of shrimp is farmed.  While shrimp is now the most popular and widely traded seafood in the world, its rise in popularity is overshadowed by its social and environmental costs.  Not many shrimp consumers have heard of mangrove trees, let alone understand their ecological value.  These gnarly, tangled giants grow throughout the tropics along estuary banks.  The trees' unique roots absorb both salt and fresh water and anchor one of nature's most productive ecosystems.  These trees buffer the land against hurricanes, collect sediments and other pollutants from rivers, and sustain habitats for numerous creatures.  Mangrove trees also are more efficient photosynthesizers than almost any other plant, creating a steady supply of nutrients for the tiny creatures at the bottom of the food chain.  One study found that for every acre of mangroves lost, wild harvests of fish and shrimp drop by 676 pounds per year.  

Nearly half the loss of mangroves in the world has been attributed to shrimp farming.  Shrimp farms in many developing countries are only productive for a few years thereby leading to a continuum of destruction of coastal areas.  Shrimp farms also depend on staggering amounts of antibiotics, fungicides, algaecides and pesticides polluting and robbing precious drinking water.  Global coastal shrimp fisheries are struggling to cope with collapsing shrimp stocks and record-low prices.  Large trawlers offshore compete with artisanal fishing in bays and estuaries, further depleting the resource base, engendering poverty and spurring conflict.  Land-based shrimp farming only exacerbates the situation through disputes over land use and water contamination from toxic effluents.  Additionally, land-based shrimp farming results in degradation of coastal habitats.  Unlike conventional shrimp capture and farming methods, Open Ocean shrimp farming in cages features the following benefits: no by-catch; no destruction of mangroves or impact on benthic ecosystems; no use of antibiotics, herbicides or pesticides; low levels of detectable waste; low energy use and carbon emissions; and a high level of resilience to climate change.  While in its infancy, Open Ocean shrimp farming is a promising concept, which recently produced 13 tons, or about 130,000 shrimp from one 3,600 cubic meter cage in La Paz, Mexico.  This is the average yield from a trawler fishing a 6-month shrimp season.  Moreover, the Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) for this pilot program was .15 and the marine scientists monitoring the project believe the FCR can be reduced to zero - the Holy Grail for sustainable mariculture. 

Open ocean cages vis-a-vis wind turbine generators

Developing and mass-producing thousands of cages for “open ocean” farming for global food security is reminiscent of the wind energy industry during the early 1980s for America’s energy security.  A 25 percent Federal tax credit, coupled with an additional 25 percent California credit and rapid depreciation fueled a wind energy gold rush.  Approximately 16,000 wind turbine generators representing $1.6 billion in tax-sheltered investments were installed as “Wind Parks”.  In retrospect, rewarding capital investment rather than performance measured by electricity generated into the grid was the flaw in the tax legislation.  Thousands of prototypes were rushed into production and many designs were also inherently flawed.  I was the founder and CEO of a publicly traded company, International Dynergy (IDI) that adopted a unique wind turbine design developed and tested by United Technologies.  The technology was in the public domain since it was funded by the U. S. Department of Energy.  During 1984 and 1985, IDI assembled and deployed over $50 million of these whirling power generators in the San Gorgonio Pass outside Palm Springs, California financed as a series of syndicated tax shelters.  With the largess of the tax credits expiring in 1985, IDI teamed with Sumitomo to scale the 92 KW wind turbine to a more efficient 180 KW machine, which theoretically could economically compete without the tax credits.  However, the cyclic return of cheap traditional fuels dampened investment interest in renewable alternatives and the nascent industry faded away.  The years 2006–2008 saw dramatic increases in world food prices, causing political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations.  

In 2008, the Haitian Senate voted to dismiss the Prime Minister after violent food riots hit the country.  Prices for food items such as rice, beans, fruit and condensed milk have gone up 50 percent in Haiti since late 2007 and post-earthquake Port-au-Prince is almost entirely reliant on foreign food aid.  Across the globe, the Pakistan army has been deployed to avoid the seizure of food from fields and warehouses and the new government has been blamed for not managing the countries food stockpiles properly for millions of flood-affected victims.  Between 2006 and 2008 average world prices for rice rose by 217%, wheat by 136%, corn by 125% and soybeans by 107%.  Causes are attributed to structural changes in trade and agricultural production, agricultural price supports and subsidies in developed nations, diversions of food commodities to high input foods and fuel, commodity market speculation, water depletion and climate change.  In response to a looming global food security crisis, the $20 billion “Feed the Future” initiative was launched. President Obama pledged $3.5 billion through 2012, which attracted an additional $18.5 billion pledged by other donor countries.  Meanwhile, cognoscenti claim fish farming is set to become the world's main source of seafood over the next 20 years since the current amount of wild-catch in open seas cannot be increased due to restrictive fishing quotas to protect species.  

Fish farming has grown consistently by 10 percent a year for the past 20 years making it the fastest growing agro-business. It represents the only serious option that can provide enough protein for a burgeoning global population.  “With Earth’s burgeoning human populations to feed, we must turn to the sea with new understanding and new technology,” Cousteau said in his 1973 television show “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.” “We need to farm it as we farm the land.”  Since tropical seas surround most of the nations where the billion people suffering from acute hunger today live, “open ocean” mariculture offers a solution to supplement traditional agriculture.   In my previous blog, “Tropical Salmon”, I write: “there are numerous advantages to farming fish in a high-energy open ocean environment including increased water flow, reduced accumulation of waste products, and decreased reliance on shore-based infrastructure and fewer user conflicts.  Oceans span 70 percent of the Earth’s surface minimizing territorial competition.”  With the ascendancy of open ocean mariculture, a major opportunity is emerging for the mass-production of an affordable and utilitarian submersible cage design since destructive hurricanes and typhoons are unavoidable in tropical regions.  My wind turbine generator experience two decades ago dictates that the cage components must be strong, durable, and already in mass-production for eliminating expensive special tooling and exploiting economies of scale.  Furthermore, the design must be simple for final assembly by low-skilled locals in developing countries.  Moreover, teaming with a major manufacturer to supply the components is critical for credibility and access to capital.  Quoting Yogi Berra: “This is déjà vu all over again”!

Open Ocean Commercialization of the Tropical Salmon

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum), a species of large pelagic finfish found in warm waters worldwide, is poised to become the “tropical salmon” for marine aquaculture.  These delectable sashimi-grade fish are solitary and non-schooling so until recently, availability for human consumption was limited to sport fishing and accidental by-catch.  Global wild-caught cobia in 2007 totaled only 10,484 metric tons as reported by sixteen countries.  Although the cobia species has been reared experimentally for decades, large-scale commercial production has only emerged within the past ten years.  Cobia have been farmed in Taiwan since the late 1990s, and recently farming operations have been developed in Panama and Belize as well as throughout parts of Southeastern Asia.  In the last four years, China has surpassed Taiwan as the leading producer of farmed cobia.  China first reported a harvest of 16,481 metric tons in 2003.  In 2007, China produced 25,855 metric tons, more than six times Taiwan’s production of 3,998 metric tons for the same year.  The combined production for 2007 was only 29,859 metric tons.  

The widespread use of trash fish in feed is one of the most serious problems associated with cobia cage aquaculture in Asia.  In China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, cages are usually clustered in congested and pollution-prone urban areas near shore.  Human waste constitutes another source of pollution where artisanal fisherfolk families live aboard the floating cages and pens.  However, early breeding and farming success with cobia in floating pens and cages near shore has propelled the development of the improved concept of “open ocean” closed cage cultivation.  

There are numerous advantages to farming fish in a high-energy open ocean environment including increased water flow, reduced accumulation of waste products, and decreased reliance on shore-based infrastructure and fewer user conflicts.  Oceans span 70 percent of the Earth’s surface minimizing territorial competition.  With sustainable “open ocean” farming technologies, cobia is expected to become a global commodity on a scale comparable to farmed salmon.  Farmed cobia possess many advantages over salmon and other marine carnivores, including impressive growth rates and the potential to thrive on a diet low in fishmeal.  Lethargic farmed cobia accumulate fatty acids so well that producers consider it to be a different product from wild cobia, which naturally has a lower fat content.  Wild-caught broodstock adapt well to confinement and accept formulated feeds.  Female cobia possess high fecundity producing more than 5 million eggs at a time and is some regions of the world they spawn naturally nearly year-round.  In hatcheries constant spawning can be environmentally or hormonally induced for a reliable and steady supply of juveniles.  Protein is the most expensive component of commercial aqua feeds representing more than half the variable costs of farm production.  Plant-based protein sources are being investigated as a sustainable and cost-effective substitute or supplement to traditional fishmeal protein.  Sources of plant-based feed substitutes, such as soy-based protein, are the most promising because of their nutritional profile, low cost and consistent availability.  

Alternative protein sources already provide from one to two-thirds of the dietary protein in commercial cobia feed that is supplied during grow-out.  Research has confirmed that soy-based protein can provide up to 40% of dietary protein in cobia feed without significantly affecting the feed conversion ratio, the protein efficiency ratio, or the net protein utilization.  In the laboratory, 100% replacement of fishmeal protein in cobia feed has been achieved, but it is not yet considered cost effective for commercial-scale production.  With the ascendancy of the tropical salmon, consider the descending $10 billion Atlantic salmon farming industry experiencing a 20 percent shortfall this year.  Disease decimated the 31 percent salmon share produced by about 700 farms in Chile and a major environmental movement is undermining top producer Norway with 33 percent of global production.  Citing unsustainable practices, the Target chain of stores recently stopped selling farmed salmon products nationwide.  The public is becoming more aware that salmon farms have become excessively dependent upon pesticides and antibiotics to combat disease that are rampant in highly concentrated near-shore penned fish – not unlike industrial-scale hog, poultry and cattle on land.  Consider the opportunity for a new paradigm with the “open ocean” sustainable farming of a species with three times the growth rate of the Atlantic salmon, with a food conversion ratio that allows them to thrive on soy feeds yet packs a whopping 1,880 mg of Omega 3s per serving – the tropical salmon.

Mariculture's Brave New World

Natural selection evolved to selective breeding leading to biofortification only to be trumped with genetic engineering for advancing the Blue Revolution.  A sequenced genome could produce better management of fish stocks and greater understanding of pathogens and resistance to disease, leading to increases in growth, reproduction, feed-conversion efficiency, and oxygen and temperature tolerance.  The Atlantic cod genome has been sequenced by a Norwegian consortium and the Atlantic salmon, with a genome three times the size, will be made public next year along with the catfish genome.  

Monsanto has genetically modified (GM) soybeans to produce oil containing omega-3 fatty acids.  One year ago, the FDA ruled that GM soybeans are safe; thus, easing pressure on fish stocks which hitherto have been the principal source of omega-3 fatty acids.  The positive potential of GM laboratories creating plant mutants for feeding humanity also applies to fish.   AquaBounty Technologies recently dominated the media with FDA approval of their GM salmon to enter the food supply.   Upon injecting genes from two other species they got their “frankenfish” to grow to market size of about 8 pounds in just 18 months that is half the industry standard of 36 months.  

Consider the potential if GM cobia, the “Tropical Salmon”, could be harvested in 6 months?  Aquatic animals’ ability to spawn millions of progeny as compared to terrestrial animals’ litter of at most a dozen is destined for fast-track genetic exploitation.  This promises exponential advances for feeding the future masses in a “Brave New World” of mariculture. 

Open Ocean Mariculture for Developing Nations

Seafood today is following the ancient course of land animal domestication that evolved from food foraging occurring some 10,000 years ago.  In the past 50 years the global seafood market has transformed whereby about half the fish and shellfish now consumed are farmed. This deliberate farming of ocean species is the fastest growing form of food production in the world amounting to $50 billion and is recognized as the Blue Revolution. This can be equated to the earlier “Green Revolution” between 1965 and 1970 when wheat yields nearly doubled. Globally, wild fisheries have reached or exceeded their maximum sustainable harvest.

Mariculture, the cultivation of marine organisms in their natural habitats for commercial purposes has the potential to revive the natural majesty and abundance of the oceans.70 percent of the Earth is covered with ocean, which could be developed into sea farms. Coincidentally, 70 percent of the world’s total fish catch comes from developing countries. These fisheries are collapsing which will be catastrophic for the 22-24 million-dependent fisher folk and the 68-70 million people who work the marine post harvest in developing countries.  With 90-95 percent of the catch destined for domestic markets, this seafood supply crisis promises profound and dire consequences.  Wild caught fish provide one of the few options for eating animal protein for the denizens of developing countries.  In Africa, 200 million people obtain between 22 and 70 percent of their dietary animal protein from fish, while in most other developing countries the average is 13%.  Add to this the vital role of fish in providing the poor with micronutrients and essential fatty acids, and the importance of sustaining fish stocks as a source of food and nutrition for the poor rivals other global epidemics.

Malnutrition causes more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.Simply maintaining current per capita consumption will require 1.6 million tons more fish every year by 2015, increasing to 4.2 million tons by 2030.  This mandates not only sustaining the fisheries that these poor consumers depend upon, but also for creating economic incentives to encourage the transfer of technologies that will allow mariculture enterprises to flourish in developing nations and do so in ways that are environmentally sustainable.  The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) estimates that an investment of US $30 million in technology development, transfer, and capacity building for mariculture, combined with improvements in policy and markets access, can produce 3 million tons of fish by 2020, and generate up to US $2 billion annually.  

A new technology paradigm for farming the seas is emerging which promises a solution to global food shortages and looming fresh water crisis. Offshore cultivation of marine species, finfish, shellfish, shrimp, and seaweed are being developed that employ environmentally sustainable techniques and technologies. “Open Ocean” marine farming operations for finfish and shrimp are conducted in cages and with shellfish on long-lines deployed in deep, pristine waters in tropical seas having optimum currents.  This offshore marine farming concept reduces reliance on wild fishery resources while softening any environmental footprint because the seas are so vast.  A diversity of Open Ocean crops provide a comprehensive nutrition menu: Cobia, the “tropical salmon” uniquely store fat and oils in their flesh and have one of the highest levels of healthy omega-3’s. 

Oysters, the “soybeans of the sea” pack huge amounts of protein, are loaded with vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids and replete with minerals: calcium, iodine, iron, potassium, copper, sodium, zinc, phosphorus, manganese and sulfur. Shrimp is an excellent source of protein, selenium, vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus, niacin, and zinc.  Seaweed provides a balanced diet and possesses nutrients and trace elements not available in land plants.  There are advantages to farming in offshore waters:  The swift currents supply ample food to promote faster growing shellfish and submerged long-lines are not as vulnerable to damage from typhoons and cyclones that are prevalent in tropical regions.  Open Ocean shellfish and seaweed farming also have a number of advantages for developing nations.

✦ Simple technology using locally available materials

✦ Labor-intensive operations.

✦ Low capital investment.

✦ Minimum environmental impact.

✦ Cultivation contributes to food security and national nutrition.

Moreover, shellfish and seaweed don’t require feeding but consume and cleanse native nutrients from the sea. Anchored in approximately 100 feet of water and suspended 30 feet below the surface, 500-foot buoyant long-lines hold hundreds of biodegradable “socks” filled with mussel seed.  Mussels have a relatively rapid grow-out period, reaching harvestable size within 10 months and each long-line has the potential to produce about 10,000 pounds of mussels per year.  

Oysters can also be cultured in nets hung on submersible long-lines and will be planted in nets at about ¼ inch in size and grow to about 3-6 inches in one year when they can be harvested.  Each oyster long-line can produce about 50,000 oysters. 

Coastal shrimp fisheries in most developing nations are struggling to cope with collapsing shrimp stocks and record-low prices.  Large trawlers offshore compete with artisanal fishing in bays and estuaries, further depleting the resource base, engendering poverty and spurring conflict.  Land-based shrimp farming only exacerbates the situation through additional disputes over land use and water contamination from toxic effluents.  Additionally, land-based shrimp farming results in degradation of coastal habitats.  Unlike conventional shrimp capture and farming methods,  Open Ocean shrimp farming in cages features the following benefits: no by catch; no destruction of mangroves or impact on benthic ecosystems; no use of antibiotics, herbicides or pesticides; low food conversion and feed fish equivalency ratios; low levels of detectable waste; low energy use and carbon emissions; and a high level of resilience to climate change. “With Earth’s burgeoning human populations to feed, we must turn to the sea with new understanding and new technology,” Cousteau said in his 1973 television show “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.” “We need to farm it as we farm the land.”

Oyster & Shrimp Symbiosis

A major problem with fish farming is water pollution.  Fish waste, uneaten feed and fecal matter accumulate in the aquatic environment affecting the farm and neighboring water supplies.  It is estimated that up to a ton of waste is produced for each ton of fish raised.  Most of the waste is in the form of organic solids and inorganic nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus causing “over-nitrification” and the spread of algal “blooms” – massive blankets of green slime on the water’s surface that precipitate bacteria growth, deplete oxygen, and kill much of the life in the water below.  

In 2001, shrimp surpassed canned tuna as America’s favorite seafood.  Today, more than one billion pounds of shrimp are imported from foreign farms.  While shrimp is now the most popular and widely traded seafood in the world, its rise in popularity and profitability is shadowed by its environmental costs.  A solution, Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), is a practice in which the by-products (wastes) from one species are recycled to become inputs (fertilizers, food) for another.  For example, shrimp farming is combined with shellfish and seaweed farming to create balanced systems for environmental sustainability.  

Scientists from Canada have been growing mussels and kelps adjacent to salmon cages in the Bay of Fundy since 2001 and are documenting its IMTA data.  The rigorously examined mussels are free of contamination and of any “fishy” taint from neighboring salmon.  Moreover, this nutrient abundance is having a positive impact on the growth of both species: the mussels reach market size 8-10 months earlier than normal and the kelps grow greater by 46%.  Hopefully, this economically attractive and ecologically sustainable concept will be adopted globally.  Consider: Expanded research and collaboration by scientists across the globe employing next generation Internet technologies for researching the efficiencies of other native shellfish filter feeders and kelp species for IMTA in developing countries.

Hybrid Vigor?

The term heterosis, also known as “hybrid vigor “, describes the increased strength of different characteristics in hybrids: the possibility to obtain a genetically superior offspring by combining the virtues of its parents.  Oysters possess this unique and remarkable property resulting in offspring growing twice as fast and large as their parents.  Seed companies exploited this phenomenon to increase corn yields seven-fold from the 1920s spawning the Green Revolution.   This genetic characteristic is now being exploited for oyster breeding and farming if the Blue Revolution is to feed another 2 billion people on the planet by 2050.  I recently visited the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies Campus on Catalina Island and was amazed to learn that they are breeding oysters to grow twice as fast as their wild ancestors.  Hundreds of millions of baby oysters have been bred and are now maturing at Taylor Shellfish Farms located on the bays and inlets of Washington’s Puget Sound awaiting harvest of 5-8 million in 2011.