WEBVTT 00:03.470 --> 00:05.906 >>Major funding for this program was provided 00:05.906 --> 00:07.875 by the Batchelor Foundation. 00:07.875 --> 00:10.677 Encouraging people to preserve and protect 00:10.677 --> 00:15.682 America's underwater resources. 00:25.759 --> 00:30.764 >>NARRATOR: The oceans were once an abundant resource, 00:30.764 --> 00:36.770 holding what seemed to be a limitless supply of seafood. 00:36.770 --> 00:41.308 But today, roughly 80% of major marine fish stocks 00:41.308 --> 00:45.512 are either depleted or overfished. 00:45.512 --> 00:51.652 >>The worldwide seafood landings of wild-caught seafood 00:51.652 --> 00:54.121 essentially maxed out in 1990. 00:54.121 --> 00:57.057 So at a time when doctors are recommending we eat 00:57.057 --> 01:02.429 more seafood, it's imperative that we come up with other ways 01:02.429 --> 01:05.132 to supply that seafood than going after 01:05.132 --> 01:08.168 the remaining fish in the sea. 01:08.168 --> 01:13.273 >>NARRATOR: One solution is to farm fish and crustaceans. 01:13.273 --> 01:17.077 >>Aquaculture is farming the sea, just as agriculture 01:17.077 --> 01:19.279 is farming on land. 01:19.279 --> 01:21.081 >>NARRATOR: But just like agriculture, 01:21.081 --> 01:25.819 aquaculture can come at a cost. 01:25.819 --> 01:28.155 >>The issue now is, can we farm it in a wa 01:28.155 --> 01:31.658 that does not cause much harm for the marine environment? 01:31.658 --> 01:35.228 >>NARRATOR: Is aquaculture the way of the future? 01:35.228 --> 01:38.298 Can it help meet the ever-growing demand for seafood 01:38.298 --> 01:40.300 in a sustainable way? 01:41.201 --> 01:46.206 ♪♪ 02:11.164 --> 02:13.166 >>NARRATOR: The farming of fish and crustaceans 02:13.166 --> 02:16.370 is not a new concept. 02:16.370 --> 02:19.906 >>Aquaculture right now is supplying 35% to 40% 02:19.906 --> 02:21.742 of the seafood that we eat. 02:21.742 --> 02:24.811 >>NARRATOR: But the majority of that seafood doesn't come 02:24.811 --> 02:27.180 from U.S. waters. 02:27.180 --> 02:31.718 >>Our second largest natural resource trade deficit 02:31.718 --> 02:34.321 is seafood, second only to oil, 02:34.321 --> 02:38.759 and that's just a staggering statistic. 02:38.759 --> 02:42.796 >>Right now, over 80% of the seafood that we eat 02:42.796 --> 02:46.133 in this country is imported, and so that seafood 02:46.133 --> 02:49.936 is either being caught or produced in other countries. 02:49.936 --> 02:55.509 We know that the inspection process for imported seafood 02:55.509 --> 02:57.010 is very limited. 02:57.010 --> 02:58.779 And we know that there are contaminants 02:58.779 --> 03:01.615 that are coming in with that seafood. 03:01.615 --> 03:04.685 >>NARRATOR: Foreign aquaculture operations in Asia 03:04.685 --> 03:07.587 and South America have been criticized for using 03:07.587 --> 03:11.091 large amounts of antibiotics and other drugs, 03:11.091 --> 03:15.295 creating a potential health risk for the consumer. 03:15.295 --> 03:19.199 Others have caused environmental problems. 03:19.199 --> 03:21.702 >>Basically, large areas of mangrove forests 03:21.702 --> 03:24.237 along coastal waters have been bulldozed to make wa 03:24.237 --> 03:27.441 for shrimp farms and fish farms. 03:27.441 --> 03:30.711 And so you have a choice: you can either have more aquaculture 03:30.711 --> 03:33.046 under strict regulations in this country, 03:33.046 --> 03:35.816 or we can continue to buy seafood from other countries, 03:35.816 --> 03:38.385 which have a lot less regulations and we know 03:38.385 --> 03:40.520 are causing a lot more pollution. 03:40.520 --> 03:43.390 >>NARRATOR: There are many different types of aquaculture, 03:43.390 --> 03:45.659 and much is being done in the United States 03:45.659 --> 03:50.664 to make the farming of seafood more environmentally friendly. 03:59.673 --> 04:04.177 In Cedar Key, a small town in Florida's Big Bend area, 04:04.177 --> 04:07.380 clam farming is big business. 04:20.127 --> 04:22.295 >>Allowing our fishermen to become clam farmers 04:22.295 --> 04:28.101 has allowed us to continue as a working waterfront. 04:28.101 --> 04:31.238 >>NARRATOR: The industry got started in 1994, 04:31.238 --> 04:34.541 after the Florida Net Ban put many local fishermen 04:34.541 --> 04:37.611 out of business. 04:37.611 --> 04:40.480 >>The infrastructure for this new industry came about 04:40.480 --> 04:43.750 through federally funded job retraining programs, 04:43.750 --> 04:47.754 placing about 200 fishermen into the clam farming business. 04:47.754 --> 04:51.057 You don't require expensive waterfront property. 04:51.057 --> 04:54.861 You're leasing coastal submerged lands from the state of Florida 04:54.861 --> 04:57.397 at a fairly nominal fee. 04:57.397 --> 05:00.133 >>NARRATOR: Cedar Key is a perfect location 05:00.133 --> 05:01.635 for clam farming. 05:01.635 --> 05:05.005 The town's rural character and the lack of development 05:05.005 --> 05:08.175 have kept the local waters of the Gulf of Mexico 05:08.175 --> 05:11.678 pollution-free, yet rich enough in nutrients 05:11.678 --> 05:15.982 that the filter-feeding clams need to survive. 05:15.982 --> 05:18.485 >>There's no such thing as clam chow. 05:18.485 --> 05:21.087 In other words, Mother Nature is providing the food 05:21.087 --> 05:22.823 for your crop. 05:22.823 --> 05:24.925 And if you don't have adequate nutrients 05:24.925 --> 05:27.327 and phytoplankton in the water, you're going to have 05:27.327 --> 05:29.563 limited growth and production. 05:34.100 --> 05:36.403 >>NARRATOR: Farming clams from start to finish 05:36.403 --> 05:38.605 is a labor-intensive job, 05:38.605 --> 05:42.409 which begins at one of the local hatcheries. 05:42.409 --> 05:46.179 >>You're looking at hard clams, 05:46.179 --> 05:48.448 scientific name Mercenaria mercenaria, 05:48.448 --> 05:53.253 and these are our brood stock clams that we use to spawn 05:53.253 --> 05:55.889 and hatch out new baby clams. 05:55.889 --> 05:57.224 The brood stock came 05:57.224 --> 06:01.127 from actually a New England wild clam. 06:01.127 --> 06:03.997 Each clam is capable of producing 06:03.997 --> 06:05.699 about two million eggs. 06:05.699 --> 06:08.134 In the wild maybe only one or two of those eggs 06:08.134 --> 06:11.171 would become fertilized because nature's natural selection 06:11.171 --> 06:13.773 would eliminate most of those. 06:13.773 --> 06:16.409 In here, we create the ideal conditions 06:16.409 --> 06:20.080 for most of the eggs to become fertilized. 06:20.080 --> 06:22.682 So we could get as much as ten or 20 million 06:22.682 --> 06:26.553 fertilized baby clams in just one spawn. 06:26.553 --> 06:28.755 >>This is the very act of domestication. 06:28.755 --> 06:30.757 We're maximizing nature's potential. 06:30.757 --> 06:33.960 >>NARRATOR: The farmers at hatcheries like Southern Cross 06:33.960 --> 06:38.398 recreate the natural conditions clams need to spawn. 06:38.398 --> 06:42.035 After each spawning event, the fertilized eggs are moved 06:42.035 --> 06:44.371 into larvae tanks. 06:44.371 --> 06:49.442 >>There is approximately 11 million baby clam larvae 06:49.442 --> 06:51.344 in that tank as we speak. 06:51.344 --> 06:54.848 And they're about 40 times smaller 06:54.848 --> 06:56.583 than the naked eye can see. 06:56.583 --> 06:59.753 And they'll sit in there five days to a week, 06:59.753 --> 07:02.155 and they're swimming around as clam larvae. 07:02.155 --> 07:07.894 And after about a week or so, they'll actually develop 07:07.894 --> 07:10.063 a shell and a foot. 07:10.063 --> 07:12.933 And it's much like a caterpillar in a cocoon 07:12.933 --> 07:14.234 becoming a butterfly. 07:14.234 --> 07:17.704 It goes through a metamorphosis, a very critical stage 07:17.704 --> 07:19.072 in their life. 07:19.072 --> 07:21.474 And once they do that, they'll sink to the bottom 07:21.474 --> 07:22.943 of the water column. 07:22.943 --> 07:27.113 They are now a hard clam. 07:27.113 --> 07:31.785 Clams eat algae, and we grow algae for the clams. 07:31.785 --> 07:33.753 They're filter feeders. 07:33.753 --> 07:37.590 And when they're this small, we feed them a specific type 07:37.590 --> 07:40.460 of algae that is easier for them to eat. 07:40.460 --> 07:43.964 They go through hundreds of gallons of algae a day. 07:43.964 --> 07:47.233 And in order to keep up with their voracious appetite, 07:47.233 --> 07:50.136 we have to grow algae every day. 07:50.136 --> 07:52.973 These are approximately one month old. 07:52.973 --> 07:55.642 And they're one millimeter in size. 07:55.642 --> 08:00.680 There's approximately 250,000 clams in this one silo alone. 08:00.680 --> 08:04.050 >>Once the clams reach a certain size, 08:04.050 --> 08:05.585 they are ready to be moved 08:05.585 --> 08:08.822 to silos on a floating dock outside. 08:08.822 --> 08:10.623 >>After they get out of the hatchery, 08:10.623 --> 08:12.359 this is the first time they're introduced 08:12.359 --> 08:15.295 to our wild natural algae. 08:15.295 --> 08:17.163 The water's pumped right out of the Gulf here, 08:17.163 --> 08:19.499 so they'll switch over from the food that we've made 08:19.499 --> 08:21.001 in there to this food, 08:21.001 --> 08:23.570 and we don't have to feed them anymore. 08:23.570 --> 08:25.505 >>NARRATOR: The clams will stay at the floating dock 08:25.505 --> 08:28.174 for several more weeks, until they reach 08:28.174 --> 08:31.344 roughly the size of an aspirin tablet. 08:31.344 --> 08:34.247 >>The clams are sieved. 08:34.247 --> 08:35.482 The small stuff will fall through, 08:35.482 --> 08:37.317 the big stuff will come down here. 08:37.317 --> 08:40.520 The big stuff we'll take out to the leases tomorrow. 08:40.520 --> 08:44.424 So they'll be planted out in the wild. 08:44.424 --> 08:46.760 This is the final step in the whole nurser 08:46.760 --> 08:50.730 part of the equation. 08:50.730 --> 08:52.832 >>NARRATOR: Once they've reached this size, 08:52.832 --> 08:56.136 the clams are put into bags and sold to farmers, 08:56.136 --> 08:58.138 who will plant them on their leased plots 08:58.138 --> 09:00.473 in the Gulf of Mexico. 09:00.473 --> 09:03.777 >>There's about 750 acres of state-owned submerged lands 09:03.777 --> 09:06.246 that are dedicated to shellfish aquaculture leases 09:06.246 --> 09:09.249 just here in Cedar Key. 09:12.685 --> 09:15.255 >>NARRATOR: One of the farmers is Bobby Whitt, 09:15.255 --> 09:17.690 who buys the little clams from a hatcher 09:17.690 --> 09:20.160 and then plants them on his lease. 09:22.929 --> 09:25.899 Bobby, who leases seven acres from the state, 09:25.899 --> 09:30.236 has been in the clamming business for 14 years. 09:36.209 --> 09:38.778 The warm temperatures of the Gulf make the clams 09:38.778 --> 09:41.481 grow faster than they would in New England, 09:41.481 --> 09:46.453 and it allows the farmers to plant and harvest year-round. 09:46.453 --> 09:49.389 Bobby says it takes roughly two years for the clams 09:49.389 --> 09:52.292 to grow into a marketable product. 09:52.292 --> 09:55.728 >>It's typical farming, just like farming on land. 09:55.728 --> 10:01.434 I try to rotate my planting, so I've got something to harvest 10:01.434 --> 10:05.038 all the time, which isn't always easy to do. 10:05.038 --> 10:07.574 >>NARRATOR: Once the bags are planted on the bottom, 10:07.574 --> 10:10.577 Mother Nature takes care of the rest. 10:10.577 --> 10:13.546 >>We tout ourselves as a very green industry, 10:13.546 --> 10:16.783 and that's because we do not have the use of feeds, 10:16.783 --> 10:20.386 fertilizers to stimulate any kind of growth, 10:20.386 --> 10:24.724 antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides. 10:24.724 --> 10:26.659 In fact, these would be detrimental 10:26.659 --> 10:31.898 to our shellfish crop. 10:31.898 --> 10:35.802 >>This is our product before we take them to the dock. 10:35.802 --> 10:38.605 He's about the first marketable size. 10:38.605 --> 10:41.641 They use them for all sorts of clams over pasta and whatnot 10:41.641 --> 10:44.277 as a pasta clam. 10:44.277 --> 10:46.546 But our optimum size is more the one-inch clam, 10:46.546 --> 10:47.714 that's what we're after-- 10:47.714 --> 10:50.617 the inch to the inch and an eighth roughly. 10:50.617 --> 10:53.553 These are more your... your primary marketable clams 10:53.553 --> 10:56.823 would be these, once again because they bring the money. 10:56.823 --> 11:00.393 >>NARRATOR: Once his clams have grown to market size, 11:00.393 --> 11:05.398 Bobby can harvest them on demand and take them back to the dock. 11:06.599 --> 11:08.601 >>They'll get rewashed and tumbled. 11:08.601 --> 11:11.204 Then I'll sort them again as they come out of the tumbler 11:11.204 --> 11:13.873 and then I'll look at them one more time before I sell them 11:13.873 --> 11:15.508 to the wholesaler. 11:15.508 --> 11:17.510 >>In the early years of the industry, 11:17.510 --> 11:20.580 it took some convincing of the local fishermen 11:20.580 --> 11:22.916 to get into the business. 11:22.916 --> 11:26.186 >>I was a net fisherman and after they banned the nets, 11:26.186 --> 11:29.289 I was retrained as a clam farmer. 11:29.289 --> 11:31.891 I didn't have a whole bunch of faith that it would work. 11:31.891 --> 11:34.327 >>I was a little more positive. 11:34.327 --> 11:36.296 Most people were more skeptical. 11:36.296 --> 11:38.464 I did like the idea of staying working on the water 11:38.464 --> 11:39.999 because the alternative 11:39.999 --> 11:41.768 was to get a job on the hill, of course. 11:41.768 --> 11:46.339 So I pursued it because it looked like an opportunity. 11:46.339 --> 11:47.607 >>It definitely works. 11:47.607 --> 11:49.842 Cedar Key is great for it. 11:49.842 --> 11:52.712 It's helped it to retain some of its fishing heritage, 11:52.712 --> 11:56.482 and there's no doubt that it's a viable way to make a living. 11:56.482 --> 11:59.686 >>The first-ever USDA aquaculture census 11:59.686 --> 12:02.021 conducted in 1998 showed 12:02.021 --> 12:04.824 that Florida was one of the leading producers 12:04.824 --> 12:07.994 of farm-raised hard clams by volume. 12:07.994 --> 12:11.097 And we know from our state surveys that Cedar Ke 12:11.097 --> 12:14.234 is one of the dominant production areas. 12:14.234 --> 12:17.503 Florida produces about 190 million clams. 12:17.503 --> 12:20.440 I think that was based on a 2007 survey, 12:20.440 --> 12:22.642 and it does fluctuate from year to year. 12:22.642 --> 12:27.513 That equates to something like $19 million, dockside. 12:27.513 --> 12:30.350 But that's not all of the story. 12:30.350 --> 12:33.152 We have the hatcheries that produce the seed. 12:33.152 --> 12:37.423 We have seamstresses that make the clam bags, 12:37.423 --> 12:40.360 boat builders that specialize in clam work skiffs, 12:40.360 --> 12:43.529 and wholesalers that distribute statewide and nationwide. 12:43.529 --> 12:46.899 So the economic footprint is obviously much larger 12:46.899 --> 12:49.102 than the dockside value. 12:49.102 --> 12:52.038 Florida was estimated at something close to $50 million, 12:52.038 --> 12:53.406 very important. 12:53.406 --> 12:57.510 >>And I'm trying to get them washed up real good. 12:57.510 --> 13:00.546 >>NARRATOR: Clamming provides a source of revenue to Cedar Ke 13:00.546 --> 13:03.216 and other communities around the state, 13:03.216 --> 13:05.051 and it does so without 13:05.051 --> 13:08.154 much of a negative environmental impact. 13:08.154 --> 13:10.790 >>Most of the jobs are out here on the water, 13:10.790 --> 13:13.359 so the local government and the county government 13:13.359 --> 13:16.896 is very interested in keeping the water clean and natural 13:16.896 --> 13:20.400 and normal here to support this industry. 13:20.400 --> 13:23.069 >>Clam farming is a dramatic success story, 13:23.069 --> 13:26.072 but it's built upon one species. 13:26.072 --> 13:29.008 And so, we're basically a monoculture industry. 13:29.008 --> 13:32.378 So we are starting to look at what other alternative species 13:32.378 --> 13:34.914 could be cultured alongside the hard clam 13:34.914 --> 13:39.619 and offer an alternative marketing opportunity. 13:39.619 --> 13:43.056 >>NARRATOR: The northern hard clam culture techniques used 13:43.056 --> 13:46.326 in Florida were originally developed by scientists 13:46.326 --> 13:49.228 at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute 13:49.228 --> 13:52.498 in Ft. Pierce, on Florida's east coast. 13:52.498 --> 13:56.202 Experts there are now looking at other clam species, 13:56.202 --> 13:59.706 which could be commercially harvested. 13:59.706 --> 14:00.973 >>The species that we're examining right now 14:00.973 --> 14:04.043 is the Sunray Venus clam, Macrocallista nimbosa. 14:04.043 --> 14:07.513 This clam is a local species and it was commercially fished 14:07.513 --> 14:09.048 years ago in Florida. 14:09.048 --> 14:10.550 We're in the research phase still. 14:10.550 --> 14:13.086 The first couple of years were spent learning how to breed it. 14:13.086 --> 14:15.488 We've now moved on to growing it in the field 14:15.488 --> 14:17.223 and we have market-sized clams. 14:17.223 --> 14:19.559 These clams have been actually tested in restaurants, 14:19.559 --> 14:22.061 and the response back has been very good. 14:22.061 --> 14:24.297 So the next part actually is to do the research 14:24.297 --> 14:27.800 in the wholesale distribution level. 14:27.800 --> 14:29.369 >>NARRATOR: Experts at Harbor Branch's 14:29.369 --> 14:32.105 Aquaculture Development Park 14:32.105 --> 14:34.307 are perfecting techniques for raising everything 14:34.307 --> 14:37.877 from conch to tropical fish. 14:37.877 --> 14:39.045 In a study done in conjunction 14:39.045 --> 14:41.414 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture 14:41.414 --> 14:43.683 Agricultural Research Service, 14:43.683 --> 14:47.854 scientists are studying ways to make the raising of pompano 14:47.854 --> 14:51.691 for food consumption more economically viable. 14:51.691 --> 14:54.660 While freshwater fish aquaculture has been around 14:54.660 --> 14:58.097 for a while, only a few marine fish have been raised 14:58.097 --> 15:00.900 commercially in the United States. 15:00.900 --> 15:05.238 >>Marine fish, in general, is probabl 15:05.238 --> 15:08.074 the most up-and-coming area of aquaculture. 15:08.074 --> 15:10.543 >>NARRATOR: One of the things that make it more difficult 15:10.543 --> 15:14.914 to raise marine fish from an egg is that in their early stages, 15:14.914 --> 15:19.585 the larvae require live feeds which need to be grown. 15:19.585 --> 15:23.656 >>These are pompano larvae that are hatching right now. 15:23.656 --> 15:28.394 Starting at day two through approximately day 17 or so 15:28.394 --> 15:30.062 until they're metamorphosed 15:30.062 --> 15:34.233 and change into a juvenile fish requires live feeds. 15:34.233 --> 15:36.169 So you have to culture the live feeds, 15:36.169 --> 15:39.505 care for them as you would the larva, and so that adds 15:39.505 --> 15:43.676 an extra dimension to the whole scenario of growing the fish. 15:43.676 --> 15:45.344 So it's much more difficult. 15:45.344 --> 15:49.115 Most freshwater fish that are commercially cultured, 15:49.115 --> 15:51.651 they don't require live-feed organisms. 15:51.651 --> 15:54.720 They'll feed on dry feeds. 15:54.720 --> 15:58.491 >>NARRATOR: Once the pompano reach a certain size, they, too, 15:58.491 --> 16:02.528 are ready to be fed commercially available fish meal. 16:02.528 --> 16:05.798 >>It's very important that we find replacements for fishmeal 16:05.798 --> 16:08.634 and fish oil because we don't want to be taking a lot 16:08.634 --> 16:11.304 of fish out of the ocean to feed fish on land. 16:11.304 --> 16:15.074 >>NARRATOR: A 2006 U.N. report estimates 16:15.074 --> 16:20.012 that 35% of the world's fishmeal is used for aquaculture, 16:20.012 --> 16:23.916 leading some to criticize the industry for adding 16:23.916 --> 16:27.086 further pressure to wild fish stocks. 16:27.086 --> 16:30.423 Experts with the Agricultural Research Service 16:30.423 --> 16:32.258 are currently evaluating 16:32.258 --> 16:36.062 eight alternative feed ingredients for pompano. 16:36.062 --> 16:39.699 >>We have had quite a bit of success with some soy products. 16:39.699 --> 16:42.101 Other things that we've been focusing on a lot 16:42.101 --> 16:45.304 are by-products of other industries. 16:45.304 --> 16:49.976 And one where we have an abundance of material 16:49.976 --> 16:52.979 that isn't being utilized as well as it could be 16:52.979 --> 16:56.082 is from the poultry processing industry. 16:56.082 --> 16:57.783 Cost is a big deal. 16:57.783 --> 17:01.554 We think we can substantially reduce the cost of feed. 17:01.554 --> 17:04.624 Also, by tailoring the feeds to meet the animal's requirement 17:04.624 --> 17:08.160 as closely as possible, we can make the animal more efficient, 17:08.160 --> 17:11.664 which reduces any waste discharge to the environment. 17:11.664 --> 17:13.533 What we're doing here is what's called 17:13.533 --> 17:17.136 a digestibility study, where we can quantif 17:17.136 --> 17:19.639 the nutrients that are going into the animal 17:19.639 --> 17:22.441 and then quantify what's coming out of the animal, 17:22.441 --> 17:26.212 the difference being what's available to the animal. 17:26.212 --> 17:28.180 >>We're hoping that what we do here 17:28.180 --> 17:31.117 eventually will spark an industry. 17:31.117 --> 17:33.286 So we're trying to spend time to go through 17:33.286 --> 17:36.389 all of these problem-solving exercises 17:36.389 --> 17:39.058 so the commercial producer doesn't have to. 17:39.058 --> 17:42.128 >>NARRATOR: Aside from developing alternative feeds, 17:42.128 --> 17:44.764 the scientists are also perfecting the use 17:44.764 --> 17:50.136 of recirculating aquaculture systems for marine fish. 17:50.136 --> 17:51.537 There are many benefits 17:51.537 --> 17:54.774 to recirculating aquaculture systems. 17:54.774 --> 17:57.977 They are almost completely self-contained 17:57.977 --> 18:00.947 and use a lot less water than more traditional methods 18:00.947 --> 18:02.848 of farming fish. 18:02.848 --> 18:05.618 They also greatly reduce the amount of wastewater 18:05.618 --> 18:08.888 which is discharged into the environment, 18:08.888 --> 18:12.325 something that has been a big problem in the past. 18:12.325 --> 18:14.393 >>Mostly, you see that in other countries. 18:14.393 --> 18:16.329 In Japan and Southeast Asia 18:16.329 --> 18:18.230 and certain parts of South America as well 18:18.230 --> 18:20.499 where you have very large aquaculture operations 18:20.499 --> 18:22.234 in inshore waters, 18:22.234 --> 18:24.370 you do generate very large algal blooms. 18:24.370 --> 18:26.105 It does cause a lot of environmental problems. 18:26.105 --> 18:28.874 And indeed, in some cases they generate red tides 18:28.874 --> 18:31.577 which then turn around and kill the fish they're trying to grow. 18:31.577 --> 18:35.181 >>NARRATOR: At the Mote Aquaculture Park in Sarasota, 18:35.181 --> 18:38.284 scientists are also looking into ways to raise fish 18:38.284 --> 18:41.854 using similar recirculating systems. 18:41.854 --> 18:44.790 >>We are located 20 miles away from the ocean. 18:44.790 --> 18:48.027 >>NARRATOR: The facility makes its own seawater, 18:48.027 --> 18:51.664 which then is used over and over after going through 18:51.664 --> 18:55.001 a filtration process to remove the fish waste 18:55.001 --> 18:57.937 and leftover food particles. 18:57.937 --> 19:01.641 >>Recirculating aquaculture is using different types 19:01.641 --> 19:05.911 of filtration systems to take that water that's flowing out 19:05.911 --> 19:09.415 of the tank and clean it up so that you can bring it 19:09.415 --> 19:13.686 right back into the tank-- and we do that using a whole series 19:13.686 --> 19:15.354 of different types of filters, 19:15.354 --> 19:18.958 everything from what we call mechanical filtration, 19:18.958 --> 19:21.260 where we remove the solids out of the water, 19:21.260 --> 19:23.896 to bio-filtration, where we remove 19:23.896 --> 19:26.932 the dissolved waste products that go into the water. 19:26.932 --> 19:32.171 Then, the water will have to go through a sterilization process 19:32.171 --> 19:37.109 where you are removing any types of bacteria organisms, 19:37.109 --> 19:40.079 and we do that with ultraviolet light and with ozone. 19:40.079 --> 19:43.449 And finally, we're going to remove carbon dioxide 19:43.449 --> 19:46.419 and replace it with oxygen. 19:46.419 --> 19:48.654 >>NARRATOR: Experts at USDA, 19:48.654 --> 19:50.956 Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute 19:50.956 --> 19:54.927 and Mote Marine Laboratory are also developing techniques 19:54.927 --> 19:58.397 to raise pompano in lower salinity water, 19:58.397 --> 20:01.033 which would make it easier and more cost-effective 20:01.033 --> 20:03.869 to raise these fish inland. 20:03.869 --> 20:07.173 >>The goal of this technology is to be able to place a farm 20:07.173 --> 20:08.641 anywhere in the country. 20:08.641 --> 20:13.145 Many people in agriculture are interested in diversifying 20:13.145 --> 20:17.116 from corn production or wheat production and also 20:17.116 --> 20:20.119 incorporate fish production within those operations. 20:20.119 --> 20:24.423 And it's a perfect linkage because you have the fish 20:24.423 --> 20:27.226 that are being produced through aquaculture 20:27.226 --> 20:28.861 and you have high-nutrient water 20:28.861 --> 20:31.464 coming out of those fish production environments 20:31.464 --> 20:37.369 that then can be used to fertilize plant crops. 20:37.369 --> 20:39.872 >>NARRATOR: Recirculating systems aren't just to grow fish 20:39.872 --> 20:41.474 for food production. 20:41.474 --> 20:43.109 Mote Marine Laborator 20:43.109 --> 20:45.611 and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute 20:45.611 --> 20:48.647 are also members of a statewide network 20:48.647 --> 20:53.552 whose goal is to replenish popular game fish in the wild. 20:53.552 --> 20:56.622 >>Stock enhancement is essentially adding 20:56.622 --> 21:00.493 to a fairly healthy population in order to help take 21:00.493 --> 21:02.528 some of the pressure off the wild stocks. 21:02.528 --> 21:05.664 >>Florida likes to consider itself 21:05.664 --> 21:07.600 the "fishing capital of the world." 21:07.600 --> 21:11.303 About 39% of all the marine fishing in the United States 21:11.303 --> 21:12.972 happens right here in Florida. 21:12.972 --> 21:14.840 Sport fishing in Florida 21:14.840 --> 21:17.376 is about a $5 billion to $6 billion industry. 21:17.376 --> 21:21.347 >>Wow, nice. 21:21.347 --> 21:24.483 >>NARRATOR: The Stock Enhancement Program is overseen 21:24.483 --> 21:29.355 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 21:29.355 --> 21:32.558 It is a partnership between the FWC 21:32.558 --> 21:36.462 and several private and nonprofit organizations. 21:36.462 --> 21:39.131 FWC scientists have been rearing red fish, 21:39.131 --> 21:41.200 also known as red drum, 21:41.200 --> 21:43.836 at the Stock Enhancement Research Facilit 21:43.836 --> 21:47.373 in Port Manatee since 1988. 21:47.373 --> 21:51.076 For years, the popular sport fish were entirely raised 21:51.076 --> 21:54.947 in ponds, but now the program is transitioning 21:54.947 --> 21:58.951 to recirculating technology. 21:58.951 --> 22:02.822 Recirculating facilities use only 10% of the water 22:02.822 --> 22:07.359 a pond requires, and they only take up a tenth of the space. 22:09.528 --> 22:12.631 >>145, 168. 22:12.631 --> 22:16.769 >>NARRATOR: Experts involved in the research say their goal 22:16.769 --> 22:19.839 is to have stock enhancement take place in concert 22:19.839 --> 22:22.942 with existing marine fishery management. 22:22.942 --> 22:25.544 >>61.9. 22:36.689 --> 22:39.692 >>NARRATOR: Between 1988 and 2004, 22:39.692 --> 22:42.261 more than six million juvenile redfish 22:42.261 --> 22:45.264 have been released in various areas across the state. 22:48.067 --> 22:51.036 >>Once we let the fish go, there are other people 22:51.036 --> 22:53.372 following these fish, tracking their movements, 22:53.372 --> 22:56.075 their survival and growth. 22:56.075 --> 22:58.244 >>NARRATOR: In order to be able to track the fish, 22:58.244 --> 23:01.347 they are tagged prior to their release. 23:01.347 --> 23:04.083 >>They're anesthetized. 23:04.083 --> 23:05.985 So I'm going to be tagging these with a coded wire tag. 23:05.985 --> 23:09.421 It's a very small tag that you can use on small fish. 23:09.421 --> 23:12.591 You can put it anywhere in their body because it is so small. 23:12.591 --> 23:16.328 And it actually comes on a roll of wire, stainless steel wire 23:16.328 --> 23:20.532 that is then cut into one-millimeter sections. 23:20.532 --> 23:22.835 It has a laser-etched number on it. 23:22.835 --> 23:25.638 This is kind of a dummy tag to show you how the numbers 23:25.638 --> 23:29.108 would look on it, and it's magnetized 23:29.108 --> 23:33.512 so we can detect it by that magnetism later in the field. 23:33.512 --> 23:37.116 >>And so we've put great efforts into marking 23:37.116 --> 23:41.420 and releasing fish experimentally in pilot releases 23:41.420 --> 23:45.457 to understand the effects of release habitat on survival, 23:45.457 --> 23:48.227 the effects of size at release on survival 23:48.227 --> 23:52.064 and the effects of the timing of releases on survival, 23:52.064 --> 23:55.467 and the effects of the magnitude of the release. 23:55.467 --> 23:59.371 How many fish can a habitat support without starting 23:59.371 --> 24:02.441 to impact other species in a negative way? 24:04.443 --> 24:07.112 >>NARRATOR: Keeping close track of the genetics of the fish 24:07.112 --> 24:09.381 is also important. 24:09.381 --> 24:12.251 >>If you're not careful, you could easily put inbred fish 24:12.251 --> 24:15.454 out into the wild in great numbers, 24:15.454 --> 24:18.357 which would then grow up and spawn with wild fish, 24:18.357 --> 24:22.227 and that would begin to reduce the genetic diversit 24:22.227 --> 24:24.496 of the wild stock. 24:24.496 --> 24:25.965 >>There's a west coast variety of red fish 24:25.965 --> 24:29.735 and an east coast variety of red fish. 24:29.735 --> 24:32.137 So it's important to have brood stock that are 24:32.137 --> 24:34.540 from the areas where you're going to release them. 24:34.540 --> 24:38.310 >>We take a fin clip from the fish, and what that is, 24:38.310 --> 24:41.480 it's like taking a fingerprint from a human. 24:41.480 --> 24:43.649 We'll send that out, and that's how we know 24:43.649 --> 24:45.684 our genetic diversity; we know who contributed 24:45.684 --> 24:48.187 to the spawn and the offspring we released. 24:48.187 --> 24:51.390 We're trying to have as much genetic diversity per spawn 24:51.390 --> 24:53.525 as possible. 24:53.525 --> 24:55.728 >>NARRATOR: Keeping close tabs on the health 24:55.728 --> 24:58.497 of the farm-raised fish is also an important part 24:58.497 --> 25:01.667 of the program. 25:01.667 --> 25:03.802 Scientists have made great strides 25:03.802 --> 25:07.940 incorporating stock enhancement into fisheries management, 25:07.940 --> 25:10.042 but much still needs to be learned to make it 25:10.042 --> 25:13.712 cost-effective to release fish on a large scale 25:13.712 --> 25:16.715 and to ensure it has the desired impact. 25:21.954 --> 25:24.790 Marine aquaculture, or mariculture, 25:24.790 --> 25:28.127 has come a long way since its inception. 25:28.127 --> 25:30.596 >>Six some odd billion of us on the planet love seafood. 25:30.596 --> 25:33.832 I believe it's the way of the future. 25:33.832 --> 25:36.068 >>NARRATOR: Much promising research is happening 25:36.068 --> 25:38.470 in Florida and elsewhere to come up 25:38.470 --> 25:45.344 with new and innovative methods to farm-raise marine species. 25:45.344 --> 25:48.447 There is much at stake for the oceans 25:48.447 --> 25:54.253 and for an ever-growing human population that depends on them. 26:25.250 --> 26:28.020 >>Major funding for this program was provided 26:28.020 --> 26:29.988 by the Batchelor Foundation. 26:29.988 --> 26:32.658 Encouraging people to preserve and protect 26:32.658 --> 26:36.658 America's underwater resources.