As Summer Comes to a Close

As summer comes to its unofficial close (yes, I know on the calendar we have a few more weeks until the autumnal equinox) which most of us mark as Labor Day weekend, GBT is poised for a very intense and productive run between now and the Thanksgiving holiday.

After an exhaustive number of interviews and screenings we selected and signed an agreement with LNV engineering. This firm truly stood head and shoulders above many others as we discussed and analyzed the criteria and expertise we would need from an engineering team to take us to the next level of production. 

Our search for a permanent site for the first full scale production farm has intensified and as of today we feel we have narrowed the potential sites down to a number of 4. Our engineers and management team will be doing the respective assessments weighing the merits and potential shortcomings of each potential site and it is our objective to settle on a location and secure it by late September to early October.

After a fairly intense period that will involve introducing our engineers to the many complicated aspects of our system, we would hope to beginning actual design work on the first two commercial modules and the supporting infrastructure by November, with a possibility (an admittedly aggressive objective) of still breaking ground in 2012 for the initial production modules.  

We have two full time job positions that we will begin interviewing candidates for in late September. 

These are very positive marks of growth in our company and as such mark significant steps toward becoming a significant player in aquaculture production in the USA. We think we will recognize this objective by the end of 2013 which given everything we have undergone as a company would be quite amazing.

And speaking of growth, this crop of post larvae seem to be flourishing growing at a phenomenal rate and should be ready for full scale commercial stocking by the end of September. 

These ( pictured above) are just a few of the 150,000 post larvae from pond # 9 being acclimated for stocking. 

They look very healthy and robust and truly are growing much faster than previous batches.

So, I head to Maryland tomorrow for the next ten days. It will be good to be back in Maryland for the Labor Day weekend to be with friends and family but the truth is all of my energies and focus for the business are now directed fully toward Texas. 

Winning a "Round"

With hope comes joy.....

Finally got some very positive news concerning Lori's treatment. 

The clinical trail she is in using "iriparib and irinotecan" to try and halt the metastatic progression of her cancer appears to be working.

Her current brain lesion has actually shrunk in the 9 weeks she has been on the trail. 

And she has no "new" metastatic activity. (Thanks to the Lord)

So, it appears we have some real hope as we continue to pursue a vaccine that may be able to boost her immune system to such a level that the triple negative breast cancer does not recur elsewhere. 

She tires easily and the "chemo" has definitely taken its toll in other ways, but she is still driving her own vehicle, taking care of her dogs, doing her own grocery shopping and visiting the horses and taking them carrots. 

Not bad for a cancer patient whom MD Anderson told almost three months ago to "start on end of life "chemo ' and get your affairs in order". 

Lori is and has always been atypical when it comes to responding to any type of medical treatments. And she has always been a fighter.

This is the fight "of her life for her life" and though she has a lot of rounds to go, she just won this round.

Please keep the prayers coming. They are working. 

Another Milestone Moment

It has been a long run bringing our 21st century aquaculture system to operational status. 

(I have detailed some of the setbacks we have encountered in earlier blog posts). 

Ironically, the technology and operational parameters we have developed since 1999 within our company have never fallen short of our goals and production targets. It has been the politics of partnerships and personalities of greed that have hindered our growth as a company. 

That said, those days are truly far behind us. 

Simply put, today we grow shrimp larger, faster and in greater densities then any other system in the world. 

And we do so, utilizing a natural, sustainable, environmentally-friendly, bio-secure production system 

While we are well aware of the exciting future we are facing with our company both here in the USA and abroad, the announcement below signifies another milestone as we progress toward profitability and sustainability as a true triple bottom company for the 21st century.

Having someone of Jim's stature as the CEO for all current and future Texas operations sends a very powerful and positive message to our investors and our team. 

"This company is growing and we will be a major shrimp and aquaculture producer in the very near future". 

JIM SALMON NAMED CEO

GLOBAL BLUE TECHNOLOGIES – CAMERON

Port Isabel, Texas – 20 August 2012:  Global Blue Technologies – Cameron today named James E. Salmon the company’s Chief Executive Officer handing him direct responsibility over the company’s goal of creating a vibrant, organic, bio-secure shrimp aquaculture industry in Texas.

“Jim Salmon is singularly qualified for resurrecting Texas’ moribund shrimp aquaculture industry and thereby placing the United States, for the first time, among the world’s leading quality shrimp producers,” said Stephen LaPointe, President of the Global Blue Technologies USA.

Mr. Salmon’s credentials include Past Chairman and President of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) representing U.S. seafood interests from the fishing fleets at sea to seafood retailers and restaurants throughout the nation. 

After service during the Vietnam War flying, commanding and training U.S. Army AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter forces and earning degrees in marketing and management including an MBA in Finance from Stetson University, Mr. Salmon was tasked with responsibility for the more than billion dollar budget for purchasing all seafood and other commodities for the 1100 Red Lobster, Olive Garden, China Coast and Bahama Breeze restaurants as Senior Vice President of General Mills Restaurants Inc. (now Darden Restaurants Inc.).

His extensive experience in the U.S. seafood industry extends from a youthful stint on a Mississippi shrimp trawler and supervision not only of General Mills’ restaurants but also daily oversight of the corporate re-supply warehouses and seafood processing system down to providing fuel, ice and docking space for fishing vessels.

Mr. Salmon is an authority on the domestic and global seafood industries including resource management, supply, marketing and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) standards for seafood products at the retail and restaurant levels.  He has served as a guest lecturer on seafood marketing and purchasing at Cornell University and as an Advisory Board Member of the University of Florida Aquatics Laboratory.

Once the nation’s leading producer of farmed shrimp, Texas’ aquaculture (built on the archaic, open-pond technology) like the U.S. (and disease-ravaged global) shrimp farming industry in general has been in a steady downward spiral since its peak years from 2003 -2006.  Throughout the nation, major farms in Florida and the bulk of small South Carolina farms closed.  Texas open-pond shrimp farms declined from over 20 in 2007 to five today in part because of disease and economics, in part because of decisions to switch from shrimp to fin fish (cat fish, striped bass, red drum) production.

Global Blue Technologies – Cameron has a proven bio-secure, zero-discharge system that produces chemical and antibiotic free, environmentally friendly, organic U-10/50 gram shrimp unique to the industry.  GBT-Cameron also recognizes the facts that the U.S. is the world’s largest market for shrimp and that the nation has a $4 billion annual trade deficit to feed that appetite. 

Under Mr. Salmon’s leadership GBT-Cameron intends to increase annual production incrementally to reach its goal of 10 million pounds of organic shrimp and, once realized, provide more than 1000 quality jobs at its South Texas facilities.   

Mid August Moment

Mid way through August and the project is steaming along.

Our search for a permanent site on which to begin building phase 1 of our expansion is well underway.

It appears we may have found the engineering firm we wanted. All the bids from all the firms we interviewed are in and we are quite satisfied with the numbers. A few details need to be clarified but then we can award that contract. This is a very important "next step" as we try and maintain our very ambitious timeline for expansion.

The weekly farm report is very positive. Below is just an excerpt. 

Production has begun with the stocking of P09 with 150,000 PL’s.  These PL’s will be used to stock as grow-out juveniles in late September/early October, depending on growth rates.  Temperatures are now within acceptable ranges in this pond, PL’s are in healthy condition and growing well.  A second PL shipment is scheduled for the first week of September, immediately after Labor Day.  These two shipments will stock out the 10 production ponds with juveniles, with staggered harvests programmed for the beginning of 2013.

Temperature was higher than desired for the stocking of these PL’s (32.9C-pm), but was brought down by semi-passive manipulation during the first five days after stocking (currently 31.5C-pm).  

Increasing ventilation by opening plastic wall panels and forced air movement directly over this pond and the WWT has dropped the temperature into acceptable range.  Additional shade panels will be installed over P09 and P03.  This will maintain these two ponds within acceptable ranges.   

Temperatures should begin to fall in all other ponds in the weeks before the transfer of these juveniles to grow-out.  Salinities are in the 24 and 19 ppt range in P09 and WWT respectively.  These will steadily rise as higher salinity water from our fresh water reserve is continually added to the system.  Ammonias and nitrites are at minimal detectable levels and should remain this way for several weeks, if not longer, while filling the facility.

With 150,000 post larvae growing rapidly toward stocking size in pond 9 (see pic below) and the facility in full operational mode we can almost take a deep breath before we begin to accelerate our efforts toward the expansion phase.

It is have been a very satisfying summer for the project. 

It never hurts to take a moment and thank God for his grace and for the beauty of the moment.

Being a movie "buff" I have watched way too many films in my lifetime. That said, it is amazing the way certain lines from random films just come into my head at the strangest times. 

Writing this and smiling as I reflect on where we are with the project today, given everything we have endured the past 5 years the following movie line just popped in my head.

"The past is but a memory and the future is unknown, but the present, the present is a "gift" and that is why we call it the "present". 

The movie from which that line came, "Kung Fu Panda". 

SPECKS

I have some dear friends visiting me on the island.

A day or so ago I took them  to see the sea turtle rescue center.

The folks at the sea turtle rescue center do great work, rescuing thousands of sea turtle eggs each year and allowing them hatch safely and getting the newly hatched turtles to the ocean without fear of early predation. 

They also take "compromised" young turtles (like the young Kemp's Ridley pictured below) and rehab them until they are strong enough to fend on their own in a natural environment. 

But the story that captured my heart and admiration this particular visit involved a canine named "Specks".

Specks used to be a search and rescue dog in New Mexico. He personally (according to his owner) saved the lives of several young people on different occasions as well as proving invaluable in finding disaster victims. 

He had an illustrious career of service. And finally as he got a bit older was retired. He came to the island with his owner but seemed restless and not ready to lay and sleep his days away dreaming of his glory days. 

With an incredible nose for detecting scents his owner introduced Specks to the distinctive smell of sea turtle eggs. Specks has become an invaluable member of the sea turtle rescue's cadre of volunteers. This year along he sniffed out and found over 13 sea turtle nests, allowing human rescuers to save several hundred hatchlings.

Now I ask you, how cool is that? 

BUSY !!!

The last two weeks have been very busy.

We finalized the funding package for phase 1 expansion.

Went to San Antonio and interviewed several engineering firms.

Have had one engineering firm visit site and another coming tomorrow. 

Should get bids from engineers by 8/15.

Once we select an engineering firm the search for a permanent site will intensify.

Completed new batch holding system this week. 

We get so much evaporation here in summer months we have to add fresh water to the ponds to maintain the salinity at proper levels.

Our small filtration system takes too long to replace the amounts of fresh water we need after particularly intense weeks of heat so we developed a holding system outside the production module to allow us to collect and disinfect a "batch" of replacement water to have ready as needed.

We have new shipment of PL's arriving tomorrow as well.

So, lots happening which is a good thing.

And of course I continue to pray for Lori as she undergoes the "irinotecan and iniparib chemo" clinical trial at Georgetown Hospital in DC.

The 30th of this month we will know if the treatment is doing what it is supposed to, which is to halt the metastatic activity of her cancer.

Lots of prayers for Lori are being said everyday from people all around the country and globe. 

I have faith God is listening.