We’ve had a few days to settle in back at home and recover from our jet lag.
It’s time now for a few reflections on a busy, productive and enjoyable journey.
It’s fair to say our crew arrived home on a bit of an emotional high – energized and inspired by knowledge gained, connections made and opportunities discovered.
Opportunities such as this: the global market continues to demand more seafood than is harvested or farmed now. The world’s biggest producer of farmed salmon – Norway – can’t fill the demand for its fish. Neither can any of the other salmon producing countries for that matter.
Added to that is the fact that the FAO is estimating that at least an additional 40 million tons of aquatic food will be required by 2030.
Atlantic Canada already produces almost 50 per cent of all the farmed salmon in North America. Our region has pioneered this industry for the past 40 years and boasts world-class expertise in hatchery design, fish health, aquatic sciences, fish feed development, environmental monitoring and innovations in production and farming practices.
We have both the natural geographic location and the industry professionals with the necessary knowledge to grasp the golden opportunity before us.
Many of our crew returned home from our Mission saying, “Let’s get to it!”
The global aquaculture industry is huge of course, but we saw this week that its industry professionals are bound by a passion for farming the ocean, for warm hospitality and for generously sharing information and expertise between colleagues so we can work together to meet the increasing demand for healthy protein.
In Ireland, we learned that farmers are struggling with a regulatory regime that often means they have to wait five to seven years to get license approvals for aquaculture operations.
But we left feeling inspired by their tenacity, optimism and vision in the midst of such challenges. Ireland is now looking to all its farmers – fish and shellfish farmers included – to help pull the country out of the economic turmoil following the Celtic Tiger. Ireland’s national aquaculture strategy is firmly focused on increasing production, new enterprises, new species, multi-trophic aquaculture and organic aquaculture.
Ireland continues to embrace ideas that set it apart. A leader in organic salmon and mussel farming, Ireland is pursuing the first national sustainability program in the world – Origin Green Ireland. The goal: by 2016, all food and drink exports from Ireland will be on the road to sustainability.
In Norway, we felt a bit like we walked into the future of aquaculture – with state-of-the-art processing facilities, innovative research projects and new equipment innovations. That country also has outstanding public infrastructure to support its industry such as convenient roads and tunnels between the islands where aquaculture operations are located. No long waits for ferries for growers there who need to get their product to market fast!
Like most salmon farmers, our Norwegian colleagues showed us they aren’t afraid to try new ideas, take calculated risks and dream big – whether on a huge scale like SalMar’s innovative off-shore farming project or on a small scale like adapting a salmon grading machine for a new farmed fish like lump fish.
Norway’s goal for its fish farming industry in 2025 is to produce 2.7 million tonnes of salmon and trout – enough to feed 100 million people. That production translates to 56,000 full-time equivalent jobs and a $62 billion contribution to the country’s GDP. That’s enough to finance about 65 per cent of the country’s nursing homes or meet 60 per cent of the demand for kindergarten spaces.
Our Norwegian tour left us thinking about what sustained aquaculture growth could bring to our own region where provincial economies face unprecedented financial challenges.
“Let’s get to it!”
And now for some thank you’s.
Thank you to Richie Flynn with the Irish Salmon Growers Association for organizing such a fantastic tour of Ireland’s aquaculture industry. Our hosts included Finian O’Sullivan from Bantry Harbour Mussels and Tim O’Leary from The Banks Bar and Restaurant (best lunch ever!); John Power at Marine Harvest Ireland Ltd (tour of Bantry Bay organic salmon farm); Julie Maguire at Daithi O’Murchú Research Centre (we learned a ton!); John Murphy at Murphy’s Irish Seafood (none of us will soon forget his description of the Irish aquaculture industry or his mussel processing plant!).
Thanks to all the speakers who took the long drive to Bantry on a Friday afternoon in the summer to tell us all about Ireland’s aquaculture industry. Those included Finian O’Sullivan, John Power and Richie Flynn mentioned above but also Karen Devereaux from the Irish Food Board; Catherine Morrison from the Irish Sea Fisheries Board; Dr. David Jackson from the Marine Institute; and, Kevin Hodnett from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Aquaculture and Foreshore Management Division. We also want to thank Tim O’Leary, Deputy President of the Irish Farmers Association and Michael McCarthy, Member of Irish Parliament for Cork South-West for taking the time to meet with us.
In Norway, thanks so very much to Knut Hjelt from the Norwegian Seafood Federation for his informative presentation about his country’s aquaculture industry. Thanks to Innovation Norway for organizing an absolutely wonderful on the water tour that included excellent presentations at SalMar’s new InnovaMar processing facility. Thank you to SalMar CEO Leif Inge Nordhammer for sharing his vision for the future and to our hosts at Seaweed Energy Solutions and Biotral (a sustainable seaweed cultivation and processing company) and Aqualine, one of the world’s leading supplier of plastic cages.
Planning such an extensive international Mission for almost 50 people takes a ton of work, expert planning, coordination and sometimes the herding of cats. Our heartfelt thanks to our tour coordinators Brian Rogers, Andy Walsh and Grethe Adoff who supported the ACFFA team. Your hard work, professionalism and good humour made this Mission a huge success.
To our Mission participants – thank you for your patience, your willingness to learn and to share your knowledge. These Missions can be grueling and they are work, but your positive attitudes made this Mission a worthwhile experience for everyone – and a fun one too!
Last but not least: thanks to our readers for tagging along on our journey. Below, we’ll leave you with some cool shots that didn’t find their way into our earlier blog posts.
Enjoy!
AquaMission 2015 – over and out!
And finally, we will say farewell with a repeat of this gorgeous sunset picture.
Memos from the Mission 
Beautiful… Great information and story…Enjoyed it immensely. To Everyone…Well Done. Welcome Home!