New vision of IMTA
On the Canadian west coast the SEA Vision Group (SVG), led by the founder and CEO Dr Stephen Cross, has developed a Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture (SEAfood) System approach that includes not only an ecological (IMTA) design to mitigate the organic/inorganic waste issues of fed aquaculture, but integrates energy alternatives (solar, ocean thermal) to address its carbon footprint, and supports Canadian Certified Organic practices to address other real/perceived issues associated with fish farming.
This novel 3-pronged approach consists of employing energy alternatives (eg, solar voltaic and thermal energy) to reduce the carbon foot-print, growing species endemic to the area, and following newly developed organic practices, such as no antibiotics, pesticides or antifoulants.
A truly “integrated” MTA approach needs to not only consider species proximity, which is critical to optimizing the transfer and uptake of organic and inorganic wastes from the fed component to the extractive species, but also the biological requirements for each of the integrated production species.
Cross observes, “that although IMTA was envisioned as an approach to mitigate the nutrient impacts of fish farming, placement of extractive species around existing farms, which were originally selected for optimal for fish production, may not necessarily provide the conditions optimal for the production of these ancillary species”. He also suggests that “IMTA will likely develop as a new seafood production sector, requiring unique infrastructure, operating logistics, and marketing strategies”.
Cross began his work on IMTA in 2000, looking at the seafood safety implications of finfish/shellfish co-culture, and using this science to help change the Canadian regulations that prohibited such an approach. SVG began commercial-scale R&D into IMTA in 2006, and since then has stimulated the design and engineering of a new SEAfood System - one that supports the integration of multiple species and facilitates operational efficiency.
Operating under its Cascadia SEAfood brand and management company, Kyuquot SEAfoods, off the Northwest Coast of Vancouver Island in Kyuquot Sound, is the first licensed IMTA site of its kind in Canada. The site is commercially licensed for 11 species including sablefish (the fed species), and a variety of shellfish (mussels, scallops, oysters, cockles) and echinoderms (urchins and sea cucumbers) as the extractive components. Nori and sugar kelp are the extractive sea plants. Envisioned as a market-driven, organic approach, the SEAfood system is ready for full commercialization, with interest from potential investors around the world. And, just like land-based closed-containment, IMTA (and the SEAfood System) is considered another “tool in the production tool-box”; generating seafood products for consumers who are interested in “high-end organic specialty seafood”. Cross notes, “…with a growing eco-ethical consumer and the newly developed organic standards in North America, there is a real business opportunity to satisfy this market niche with our sustainable SEAfood ”.
With new and fully integrated multi-species infrastructure (including a unique cage design to facilitate organic nutrient transfer) the SEA Vision Group is seeking investment to transition its existing farm operations into this unique IMTA “SEAfood” approach. The company is pursuing an opportunity to leverage its initial investment to attract funds from the government of Canada in support of a “demonstration” of the new technology. It is hoped that this can be initiated in 2016.
