Ocean farm to raise 'ahi
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Encouraged by the success of ocean farming of caged moi off O'ahu, a Big Island company has applied for an ocean lease to raise 'ahi for export primarily to Japan.
Initiated by Native Hawaiian fishermen in partnership with an international ocean-farming expert from Canada, Ahi Nui Tuna Farming LLC plans to capture low-value juvenile bigeye and yellowfin tuna and raise them in special net cages until double or triple in size.
Ahi Nui hopes that the state will grant a lease for about 200 acres of subsurface ocean along the Kohala Coast north of Kawaihae, according to a draft environmental assessment notice published yesterday.
The 'ahi grow-out project, if approved, would be Hawai'i's second ocean-based fish farm and is expected to be followed by a third proposed operation, according to Sam Lemmo, senior land division planner with the state Department of Land & Natural Resources.
Aquaculture experts said the catch-and-feed method of raising 'ahi can benefit local fishermen and does not significantly affect wild stocks.
"I'm excited about it because I think it has high potential," said Leonard Young, an aquaculture specialist with the state Aquaculture Development Program. "I would like to see more operations like this."
Legislation passed in 1999 streamlined the ocean-lease permitting process, making it easier to get started, and some industry leaders expect that at least a dozen commercial open-ocean fish farms will be operating in the Islands in the next decade.
Farming of finfish represented only $2.3 million of Hawai'i's $22.2 million aquaculture industry two years ago, according to the latest available state statistics. But experts said the figure should be significantly higher this year because of the recent success raising moi.
Kailua-based Cates International, which operates two cages off O'ahu to farm moi, recently began harvesting about 5,000 pounds of fish a week after years of research and a slow commercial start last year.
Ahi Nui hopes to add to the industry, but has challenges ahead, including obtaining various permits and developing a special food to feed the fish.
"It's a challenge putting everything together," said Clayton Brenton, Ahi Nui's fish-farming expert. "We're feeling fairly optimistic about things."
One advantage for the company is that the process is proven. Wild juvenile tuna are being captured, then raised in ocean pens in Australia, Mexico and Nova Scotia, according to Ron Weidenbach, president of the Hawai'i Aquaculture Association.
Glenn Tanoue, president of Tropic Fish and Vegetable wholesalers and retailers, said similarly raised bluefin 'ahi from the Mediterranean tastes "fantastic."
Ahi Nui plans to operate up to 18 cages, and export primarily to Japan, where prices yesterday were $27 a pound for perfect bigeye and about $18 a pound for an average bigeye. Perfect yellowfin was fetching almost $14 a pound.
Reach Andrew Gomes at 525-8065 or agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.
