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Aquaculture in NC: Providing for the rich or the masses?

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012 Bluegrass Blue Crab

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What do you think of when you picture a fish dinner? A fancy anniversary meal atop a seaside bluff at sunset? Or a staple food, eaten daily as part of the subsistence diet of coastal community members? Seafood is a strange commodity because depending on how you answered that question, you’re right. Seafood occupies multiple rungs of the economic ladder. But the most common consumer is the middle-class, which is shrinking in the US but growing worldwide. So what does a changing seafood consumer base mean for which types of seafood we should increase through aquaculture? Here’s a few thoughts from the keynote speaker at the NC Aquaculture Development Conference, Travis Larkin from Seafood Exchange.

March conservation madness: endangered species mascots in the NCAA basketball tournament

March 12, 2012 David Shiffman 8 Comments

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Final4 — WhySharksMatter at a previous Final 4 (in the midst of the Great Darwin Beard Challenge)

This weekend was Selection Sunday, the annual revealing of brackets for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the official start of “March Madness”. This year’s field of 68 teams features some incredible basketball talent, some heartwarming stories of individuals and teams overcoming adversity… and quite a few schools which use threatened or endangered species as mascots. As I am a huge college basketball fan in addition to being a conservationist, I couldn’t resist a quick tour.

South region:

#11 Colorado
Mascot: Buffaloes. Considered “Near Threatened” by the IUCN Red List, American bison are iconic of the U.S. conservation movement.
First game: Thursday at 9:57 vs. the #6 UNLV Running Rebels
Expected outcome: Though 6/11 games are often popular picks for upsets, we can expect that not too long from now, Colorado’s fans will speak fondly about the time that their team used to roam the plains of the NCAA tournament in huge numbers.

#3 Baylor
Mascot: Bears (specifically black bears), which Baylor University keeps several of in captivity. According to the bear program’s website, ” Texas [where Baylor University is located] has a population of 50 North American Black Bears, and is an endangered species within the state of Texas. Nationally, bears are not endangered and have a strong, viable population.”
First game: Thursday at 7:27 vs the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (species not specified, though most North American jackrabbits are IUCN “Least Concern”.
Expected outcome: About what you’d expect from a fight between a bear and a rabbit (when running away isn’t an option).

The Race to the Bottom Heats Up

March 8, 2012 Andrew Thaler

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In which James Cameron makes my week awesome: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mBG0LbAoqk&feature=player_embedded Also covered at Deep Sea News and Sea Monster.

Three Stories of Shipwrecked Sailors

February 26, 2012February 26, 2012 Andrew Thaler

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Last week I flew out to Salt Lake City for the bi-annual Ocean Sciences meeting, bringing together 4300 scientists from around the world to discuss the current state of the ocean and present their latest findings. To mark the occasion and pass the time on a series of long flights, I loaded my kindle with my latest addiction, Amazon singles – short form ebooks, longer than a standard article, but shorter than a full book (and really convenient for an hour layover). In honor of the Oceans meeting, the flavor of the downloaded books was disaster and survival at sea.

Aquaculture in NC: Urban Aquaculture

February 16, 2012February 13, 2012 Bluegrass Blue Crab 1 Comment

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Not everyone who wants to start an aquaculture farm has the privilege of picking up their family, leaving their job, and moving to a rural area. Note I didn’t say small town – many of the same rules apply to small towns as large cities. I mean at least a few miles from Main St. Not to mention, there’s lots of vacant lots right now in the sluggish real estate market that could be put to good use. That’s exactly what Rob Ellis decided when he opened Astor Farms in Charlotte, his hometown. He grows tilapia in an abandoned DHL warehouse near the Charlotte airport. And he shared his story at the NC Aquaculture Development Conference last week in New Bern, NC.

Aquaculture in NC: The Global Connection

February 15, 2012February 13, 2012 Bluegrass Blue Crab 1 Comment

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“We just sold a much bigger one to Denmark, but couldn’t be this style”, said the trade show representative as if he had traveled to the town next door. Aquaculture has its roots in northern Europe in many ways, mainly through connections to the beginnings of domesticating Atlantic salmon. So many American companies are making good money selling their technology and feed to customers around the world that have already made the step into large-scale aquacultural production.

A few countries in particular made their influence known several times: Denmark, Chile, and Canada. Though these have prominent roles in the global capture fisheries as well, their particular geology gave them a head start on salmon that is expanding over into other types of aquaculture.

Aquaculture in NC: Designed Ecosystems

February 14, 2012February 14, 2012 Bluegrass Blue Crab

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Lest you think aquaculture is like your childhood fish tank on a larger scale, let me remind you of the plecostomus in that tank. You know, the thing that sat stuck to the back of the tank behind the plant so that the family could never quite find it. Yet somehow, despite the fact that you could swear it never moved and could have been a stone decoration rather than an organism, this little helper kept every surface of that tank sparkly clean. Algae-free glass, gravel, and plants. But what if you have large, outdoor ponds and each mouth to feed costs you money if it doesn’t eventually end up as dinner?

This is exactly when you have to stop thinking of these operations as just a tank of fish. They are nestled in the surrounding ecosystem, full of naturally occuring algae – some good and some bad. For eastern North Carolina, both the wind and the tide might carry in some future algae blooms to your tanks, which are well-stocked with nutrient-rich fish poop to feed it. Instead, as NC Aquaculture Conference speaker DE Brune puts it, you have to think of your tanks and ponds as “designed ecosystems”.

Aquaculture in NC: North Carolina Aquaculture Development Conference

February 13, 2012February 13, 2012 Bluegrass Blue Crab

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This past Friday on the banks of the Neuse in New Bern, NC, people interested in aquaculture in the region gathered to discuss the future. The group packed the ballroom in the Hilton with scientists, extension agents, interested citizens, and of course – producers. The afternoon before some attendees had the chance to visit farms in the area firsthand, one of which I’ve previously written about (White Rock Fish Farm). Friday held talks on the science, economics, and policies of aquaculture. Saturday morning wrapped up with freshwater and saltwater workshops tackling the details of growing fish. Parallel to the whole event was a trade show exhibiting the myriad food options available, water quality testing technology, cages and nets, greenhouses, and contacts for state programs. Friday night, there was proper celebration of aquaculture in the form of the Aquafood festival showcasing products from around the state. Take home message from the event? I left wanting to put a tank in my small Beaufort yard alongside the goats, chickens, and vegetable garden.

Aquaculture in North Carolina: White Rock Fish Farm

February 2, 2012January 24, 2012 Bluegrass Blue Crab 1 Comment

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“It’s a mom and pop operation, you could say”, described Ted Davis, owner of White Rock Fish Farm in Vanceboro NC. His smile extended ear to ear as he talked about his farm – and the length he goes to ensure his fish are never stressed on their way to the market. The trick? The farm’s small size – 8 ponds – allow the fish to be harvested by hand, each one receiving individual attention on their way to a shipping container. Another thing that makes his farm special? The hybrid striped bass have personality. They’re scared of tractors, eat more when there’s algae in their pond, and elicit hugs from visiting children.

Mr. Davis takes a whole day, with a helper, in harvesting his hybrid striped bass before they begin their frozen journey to Canada. Other growers, including his neighbors down the road, will spend just hours handling even more fish. Hybrid striped bass, however, bleed when they’re stressed. This turns their flesh and fins red, muddling the prized stripes for the marketplace. Plus, stressed fish release stress hormones and other chemicals that consumers can taste. So the White Rock way is to remove as much stress from the fish’s life as possible.

Core Themes for 2012: Focus on nuance

January 30, 2012January 31, 2012 David Shiffman

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One of the main advantages of blogs is that they allow knowledgeable parties to write in detail about their area of expertise. Information can now come directly from experts to the interested public. This provides an opportunity for those directly involved in an issue to provide context to (and details of) a story. Here at Southern Fried Science, we strive to provide deeper background in topics in which we are knowledgeable, focusing not only on the broader context but on the subtle nuance.