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Fish farm ready for first arrivals arrive
By Francesca Olsen
HUDSON - At the end of July, 45,000 new residents will call the Local Ocean building on Route 9 home, and they’ll be ready to eat in a year.
Gilt Head Sea Bream, a saltwater fish native to the Mediterranean Sea, will be the first fish to be farmed at Local Ocean. Local Ocean is the first recirculating salt water commercial aquaculture operation in the U.S., and has made its national headquarters in Columbia County.
Gilt Head Bream “is a foreign species that does not occur in America, and does not occur in our weather,” said James Marlow, Local Ocean vice president, who added that many more fish are on the forecast.
The fish will weigh less than half a gram when they arrive at Local Ocean. All 45,000 of them will fit in a mid-size tank containing cold, salty water. Marlow said he expects a 5 to 10 percent death rate “due to the stress that the fish are exposed to.”
“We expect the fish to grow to commercial size in ten months,” said Marlow. Because the fish are farmed inside in tanks that mimic exactly their native habitat (except for predators, illnesses and other dangers), it takes less time for them to mature to commercial size than in the wild. Marlow said Local Ocean uses “very efficient and complex security measures throughout the whole life span to make sure they are not exposed to any sources of illness.”
“They always have a sustained amount of the right food. They have the right quantity and the right quality of food. They have a perfect environment for these fish to grow and thrive...they live in permanent summer,” said Marlow.
Normally, the average fish farming rate is between 12 and 28 months, depending on the species of fish. Tuna, for example, grows four times as fast as Gilt Head Brean. Today, said Marlow, tuna is not farmed, only caught wild. “In one year, that fish would weigh eight pounds. Our fish would weigh one pound,” he said.
Local Ocean will not do anything to accelerate growth at the fish farm. This means no growth hormone, no chemicals, and no manipulation. Marlow says the company won’t pursue becoming certified organic, because the laws on what is considered certified organic are changing.
“We can certify something very important, which is lead free and chemical free,” Marlow said. “This means you will be eating fish that has no lead, no mercury, and is grown in the same water you can drink from the tap.”
The company plans to sell the fish to restaurants in Manhattan, Boston, Albany, Hudson and Red Hook. “We will not sell directly to customers and we will not sell to wholesalers,” said Marlow. In the future, restaurateurs will be able to buy advance harvest, choose species of fish they would prefer, and streamline their product down to its size. “They might want them bigger or smaller depending on what the chef’s preferences are. We need to have the fish swimming in the water and growing so we can invite the chefs to come see what we have,” Marlow said.
Local Ocean currently has five people employed -- primarily marine biologists. Marlow plans to hire another four to five people in the next two to three weeks to take care of the fish once they arrive. The company is expecting to create 53 full time jobs and seven contract positions. “At that point we expect to have millions of fish,” Marlow said.
“It’s a great opportunity to extend the Columbia County economy,” said Chamber of Commerce President David Colby. “The whole project is absolutely fascinating. It’s so exciting where this can go. The growth potential is tremendous.”
Gilt Head Sea Bream, a saltwater fish native to the Mediterranean Sea, will be the first fish to be farmed at Local Ocean. Local Ocean is the first recirculating salt water commercial aquaculture operation in the U.S., and has made its national headquarters in Columbia County.
Gilt Head Bream “is a foreign species that does not occur in America, and does not occur in our weather,” said James Marlow, Local Ocean vice president, who added that many more fish are on the forecast.
The fish will weigh less than half a gram when they arrive at Local Ocean. All 45,000 of them will fit in a mid-size tank containing cold, salty water. Marlow said he expects a 5 to 10 percent death rate “due to the stress that the fish are exposed to.”
“We expect the fish to grow to commercial size in ten months,” said Marlow. Because the fish are farmed inside in tanks that mimic exactly their native habitat (except for predators, illnesses and other dangers), it takes less time for them to mature to commercial size than in the wild. Marlow said Local Ocean uses “very efficient and complex security measures throughout the whole life span to make sure they are not exposed to any sources of illness.”
“They always have a sustained amount of the right food. They have the right quantity and the right quality of food. They have a perfect environment for these fish to grow and thrive...they live in permanent summer,” said Marlow.
Normally, the average fish farming rate is between 12 and 28 months, depending on the species of fish. Tuna, for example, grows four times as fast as Gilt Head Brean. Today, said Marlow, tuna is not farmed, only caught wild. “In one year, that fish would weigh eight pounds. Our fish would weigh one pound,” he said.
Local Ocean will not do anything to accelerate growth at the fish farm. This means no growth hormone, no chemicals, and no manipulation. Marlow says the company won’t pursue becoming certified organic, because the laws on what is considered certified organic are changing.
“We can certify something very important, which is lead free and chemical free,” Marlow said. “This means you will be eating fish that has no lead, no mercury, and is grown in the same water you can drink from the tap.”
The company plans to sell the fish to restaurants in Manhattan, Boston, Albany, Hudson and Red Hook. “We will not sell directly to customers and we will not sell to wholesalers,” said Marlow. In the future, restaurateurs will be able to buy advance harvest, choose species of fish they would prefer, and streamline their product down to its size. “They might want them bigger or smaller depending on what the chef’s preferences are. We need to have the fish swimming in the water and growing so we can invite the chefs to come see what we have,” Marlow said.
Local Ocean currently has five people employed -- primarily marine biologists. Marlow plans to hire another four to five people in the next two to three weeks to take care of the fish once they arrive. The company is expecting to create 53 full time jobs and seven contract positions. “At that point we expect to have millions of fish,” Marlow said.
“It’s a great opportunity to extend the Columbia County economy,” said Chamber of Commerce President David Colby. “The whole project is absolutely fascinating. It’s so exciting where this can go. The growth potential is tremendous.”
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