Tropical Fish…In Maine? | Ecological Aquaculture
All of the approximately 20 species (including color morphs) have been raised from eggs spawned at Sea & Reef, an achievement that ensures no tropical coral reefs have been harmed or fish species further depleted when these fish reach a... He notes that his captive-raised fish are more suitable for hobbyist tanks than wild fish: “They’ve spent their entire life in tanks and are accustomed to people,” he says, “and they are free of parasites and diseases. Hansen, now the sole owner since Callan moved to Hawaii, explains that millions of tropical fish imported each year to fill hobbyists’ reef tanks are harvested with harmful methods such as using sodium cyanide or dynamite to stun the wild fish. Clownfish broodstock could swim in tanks where flower pots served as surrogate anemones (in the wild they have a symbiotic relationship with anemones), cylindrical tanks held algae to feed zooplankton which provide nutrients for fish larvae, and... With a $200,000 Maine Technology Institute development grant, which he will repay, Hansen funded production systems, including a water supply system with heat exchangers, high tech filtration, UV sterilization, and a 13-foot-tall water tank... Eventually, Hansen wants to culture every marine animal a hobbyist needs to stock a reef tank, including corals, anemones, ornamental shrimp and sea horses. Presently, Hansen is shipping around 1,500 to 2,000 fish a month, which he says will increase to 3,000 to 4,000 fish a month in the peak season, January through March. By next September, Hansen plans to be selling 16,000 tropical fish a month, a giant leap from the 1,000 a month he and Callan were selling from the Aquaculture Research Center in Orono. Townsend added that the presence of tropical fish in the aquaculture center was beneficial because unlike cod, which spawn once a year, the tropical species produce thousands of eggs year round. In 2010, when Seabait, a company doing research and development in the culture of sand worms at the University’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR) in Franklin moved out, CCAR director, Nick Brown, called Hansen and asked if he was... Townsend says he was impressed by the promise and sustainability of raising tropical fish in Maine, although other faculty members were skeptical, considering the Maine climate. “Actually, Maine’s cold water is a positive factor,” he says, noting that “If any tropical fish escape from a Maine facility, they would not survive. For Søren Hansen and Chad Callan, who started the company together while students at University of Maine at Orono, this sustainability was a major reason they moved from research with cod to focus on ornamental tropical fish. After conducting a shipping study funded by the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, he has developed a shipping protocol for fish densities, water volume and temperature that ensures safe delivery. This growth has been made possible by multiple sources of support, including grants from Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, Maine Technology Institute, Efficiency Maine and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. With help from Jake Ward, the university assistant-vice-president for research, economic development and governmental relations, they formed Sea & Reef Aquaculture in 2003 and moved their small business to the campus Aquaculture Research Center. They pose no threat as an invasive species, which is a big problem with tropical fish raised in warmer climates....
A two-sq ft tank cost about Rs two lakh. In another stall, oysters were being displayed to promote cultivation of fresh water mussels for pearls. Kalanjan from Indian Pearl Culture, Mumbai, enlightened curious fishermen about how they could cultivate
Splashes of cobalt play off shades of aqua so rare even Martha Stewart would be hard pressed to name them. With such a dense and changeable palate, it's small wonder Tahiti rates as the sole place I've traveled to where the brochures lie in the