Posted on: Saturday, August 24, 2002

Moi farm signs 20-year lease

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

The owners of an ocean-based moi farm hope to expand their operation now that they have a long-term lease with the state.

Cates International signed a 20-year lease with the Department of Land and Natural Resources yesterday to use 28 acres under waters two miles south of 'Ewa Beach. The lease was the first issued in the country for a commercial ocean farm.

The Kailua-based firm has raised the fish in two cages for several years while it negotiated a lease with the state and hopes to increase production soon. Company president Randy Cates said the two cages — 80 feet wide and 50 feet tall and submerged 40 feet below the surface — are producing about 5,000 pounds of moi a week.

Cates said he wants to add two cages soon with the hope of further expansion.

The moi are hatched at the Oceanic Institute, a nonprofit aquaculture research organization based at Makapu'u, and placed in the cages when they weigh 3 grams. Cates said the moi are ready for market in six months when they weigh about a pound.

The fish is sold to local markets and restaurants, as well as on the Mainland, he said.

Moi populations in the wild have been depleted by over-fishing and the tasty fish had been absent from local restaurants.

"Restaurants are putting it back on the menu. They were unable to get a consistent supply so many of them took it off the menu," Cates said. "We're selling everything that we can produce, so I'm pretty confident that they're happy with our quality."

Indigo Eurasian Cuisine restaurant on Nu'uanu Avenue has been serving moi from Cates' farm since he began production. Chef and owner Glenn Chu said he is very pleased with the product.

"It's got enough oil in it to hold it through to a little bit of overcooking and the product is stable enough for a little bit of undercooking. It has a very clean flavor to it," Chu said.

He added that the ocean farm provides restaurants with something they haven't had in years: a steady supply of moi.

"The nice thing about aquaculture is that there is a consistency to it now. You call them up and they always have it," Chu said.

The lease with the state calls for a base rent of $1,600, plus 1 percent of gross revenues.