Kona Blue Expands Open Ocean Mariculture into Sea of Cortez

Wed Nov 4, 2009 12:34pm EST
 
[-] Text [+]
Hawaii-Based Company Also Reconfigures Net Pen Array at Kona Site
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii--(Business Wire)--
Kona Blue Water Farms announced today that it has secured funding and is
proceeding with developing a second mariculture farm in Mexico`s Sea of Cortez
to expand the company`s production of Kona Kampachi, a premium tropical
yellowtail. 

The company is planning to deploy the first net pens later this year at the new
site in the Bay of La Paz, five miles off the coast of the Baja California
peninsula. The pens will be stocked with fingerlings before the end of December,
2009. A land-based hatchery is also planned for construction. This expansion to
a site within easy trucking distance of the US mainland is a key element in the
company`s plans to increase production volumes, reduce delivery costs for the
fresh product, and reduce the overall carbon footprint of the company by
minimizing the airfreight requirements. 

Kona Blue`s mariculture operation in Hawaii is also currently undergoing a
reconfiguration of offshore pens, which will replace the submersible Sea
Stations™ with more robust surface pens. The new pens will take advantage of the
latest Norwegian surface cage technology, and will also utilize ultra-sturdy,
innovative Kikkonet material. This new net pen configuration will remain on the
company`s current site, and is expected to result in considerable operational
improvements and an increase in the farm`s sustainability quotient. 

"We`re very pleased that our expansion plans are progressing," said Neil Anthony
Sims, President and CEO of Kona Blue. "These improvements in Kona and expansion
into Baja California are significant steps in furthering our mission of
`expanding the environmentally sound production of the ocean`s finest fish.`"
Sims stated that the company will hold to the same rigorous standards of
sustainability of feeds, operating procedures, and product quality at the new
location in La Paz. 

Because of the reconfiguration of the Hawaii site, there will be a short-term
gap of market availability of Kona Kampachi over the next six months, beginning
the end of November, 2009. The popular sashimi-grade fish will be back on the
market in May, 2010. 

Kona Blue currently operates an array of submersible net pens in waters over 200
feet deep, with strong currents over a sand bottom, a half-mile offshore from
the Kona coast. The site was carefully selected to minimize potential for
environmental impacts, and to avoid conflicts with existing uses or cultural
concerns. The company undertook three years of extensive community consultations
and outreach before the lease was granted, in 2004. The farm has been in
operation since 2005, and produced around 500 tons of Kona Kampachi in 2008.

Kona Blue Water Farms
Kelly Coleman, 808-331-1188, ext.108
kcoleman@kona-blue.com
www.kona-blue.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009

 

Featured Broker sponsored link

Editor's Choice

A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours.  Slideshow 

Most Popular on Reuters

  • Articles
  • Video