Changing the World

Jonathan Swift once said, "I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed."

I am not sure who said this but another quote I believe to be a basic truth is the one that states , "Man is the only animal capable of self rationalization and the only one who needs to be."

I could go on quoting various quotes combining sarcasm and vitriol addressing various behaviors by people that are beyond my understanding.

Today's blog however has a different focus. I am tired and pissed off with what we humans individually and together as “environmental groups,” international regulatory bodies, industries, or nations are doing to the world's oceans and the creatures that inhabit them. 

For decade upon decade, I’ve sat through countless mind-numbing meetings at the international, national, corporate, and NGO levels with each one trying to outdo the other in their passion and dedication to “save the Oceans.”  

It doesn’t matter who is talking - Ministers, National Administrators, scientists, or activists pounding podiums and spouting statistics, pointing fingers at polluters and nations that turn a blind eye on the illegal and destructive practices of their fishing fleets – they say the same thing: the state of the Earth’s Oceans is “critical.”

 

Their every well-intentioned pledge on behalf of reversing that ominous pronouncement amounts to the same thing:  lip service.

Nothing substantial or helpful ever gets done.  Nothing changes. 

Of this I do not exaggerate.  It’s the same song and dance I’ve listened to since 1992.

I have been on shrimp boats, factory trawlers, long line boats, and more than I can remember since 1997

The sad and frustrating fact is the Oceans and the creatures within continue to suffer on-going destruction and degradation.  Over 75 percent of the world’s fish stocks are either depleted or quickly heading toward that shameful status.

I truly believe that governments can only administer and NGO's can only point fingers and lay blame (much like the media).  Neither institution has the means to really make things better.  

On this blog, I want to talk about trying to make a real difference in the world. 

I am not saying "I" can make a difference, but perhaps given what our company is doing now and where we are in our development of a truly re-circulating and sustainable aquaculture system, it is time to talk about how our system given its capabilities might be able to show how a difference can be made.

As I mentioned in a recent blog, the shrimp project in Texas is being handled by a team far more competent than I could ever hope to be.  Once the last Reg D funds are raised and the funds become available to build production modules 3 and 4 that project will be economically self-sustaining.

Our first overseas project for shrimp has begun and in 2015 that operation should come on line and begin (for the first time using our system) to produce a high grade, sustainable, natural and great tasting jumbo shrimp outside of the USA.

With this in mind, I am starting to focus on beginning the R&D phase of utilizing the GBT system to produce several species of non-pelagic fin fish. 

The GBT technology can produce copious amounts of high quality fish protein.  What we need to research are some of the environmental and feed parameters relevant to each species.  Thanks to what we’ve learned from our experience raising GBT shrimp, that R&D on fin fish species should not be all that difficult.

This new approach to farming fin fish could effectively be a game changer for the world's oceans. 

We at GBT are already exceeding all records of biomass per cubic meter of water for shrimp.  Our projected biomass for fin fish should be even far greater than what we’ve done to date with our shrimp. 

Just as with our shrimp production, our fin fish production will eliminate enormous amounts of by-catch of non-targeted species.  

Let me remind you the scale of what I’m talking about.

For every pound of shrimp GBT produces, between 7 and 14 pounds of species such as red fish, sardines, pilchard, crab, sea turtles, sharks, and many more, are allowed to live.  Speaking conservatively, if we raise 10 million pounds of shrimp per year we could spare 70 to 140 million pounds of non-target species from becoming by-catch waste.  

By-catch associated with the fin fish industry is even greater than that taken by the shrimp capture fisheries.

If you think I am exaggerating, I am not. These are just a very few pictures of hundreds I took in the late nineties, of by catch that was thrown back into the ocean dead after the shrimp were separated from the rest of the catch by hand. 

It made me sick to see it then and it makes me sick today to think about the millions of fish, turtles, dolphins, and other species that are destroyed daily, all called "by-catch", a euphemism for non-targeted kill. And in my view it has only gotten worse.

I am not sure whether the best way to move forward is to try and find a global partner who shares GBT’s commitment to the values of ethical capitalism and the triple bottom line or if I should seek a grant for the research phase now that 15 years and over 55 million dollars were spent perfecting the GBT system. 

I have given serious thought to the various options on how to help us secure the funds to afford the initial R&D expenses needed before a true commercial scale fin fish venture can be launched.

Farming high-end fin fish is undeniably a highly lucrative endeavor that is a universally acknowledged as being a key to relieving the depletion of the Oceans’ marine fish stocks from over-fishing.  

But, the equally undeniable truth ( in our opinion) is that in its present forms – floating farms, open ocean net-pens, etc. – fin fish farming is fast heading the way of open-pond shrimp farms: toward extinction.

Our dilemma is how to fund the R&D needed in order to select the species of fin fish the most pragmatic fit for GBT in terms of its consumer demand, return on investment, and environmental factors affecting growth, feed, supply of smolts (baby fish for stocking) etc.?

Do I seek a Global Partner(s)?  Look for Foundation grants? Or, once again use personal assets as I have in the past, or use a mix of personal and corporate assets?

The more I ponder how to reach this new objective the more details I have to address: The structure of the new entity?  It’s name?  The percentage of the company and the role of such a “partner.” 

At this moment, I’m thinking that the company should be called Global Blue Technologies – Fin Fish (GBT-FF) and that the individual(s) bringing USD about a $5.5 million dollar investment to the table should, in turn, be given 1/3 equity in all revenue streams and a seat on that company’s Board of Directors as well as the corporate strategic planning team.

The GBT - Cameron shrimp operation is a strictly American owned company. For the fin fish venture it seems appropriate investors on a global level and to consider if we might even incorporate in the country of the investor’s choice.  

We need to bring GBT-FF “on-line” and expand its growth in the most rapid, productive and efficient manner possible.

Whether we go with an individual or seek a grant, the funding source be they individuals or a foundation or a country absolutely must share the GBT corporate objective of promoting ethical capitalism, environmental sustainability, social equity and advocacy for reducing fishing pressure on the world’s oceans.  

The potential GP must have the financial resources, business acumen and financial network to allow GBT-FF to rapidly expand global fin fish production throughout key targeted locations worldwide starting the first quarter of 2015.

The financial upside is enormous. Projected production of “shrimp” within the “fully integrated GBT system” is between 5kg’s per m³ per harvest to, within a few years, perhaps 8-10 kg’s m³, but we believe that is the maximum.

Production in the GBT system with certain “efficient feeders” of finfish like sea bass, drum, pompano or cobia have biomass forecasts of harvests from 40- 70 kg’s per m³. 

The cost of production per unit will be higher than shrimp, but the actual net in sales will be significantly greater due to higher bio masses and increasing prices driven by a growing global demand.

Most simply put, if GBT-FF can secure the right “fit” as a funding source, this strategy will allow GBT-FF to produce finfish for the world and for profit at least 5-7 years faster than if the internal financial approach for GBT’s expansion is undertaken. 

A tentative working analysis of six species has already been completed.

A key factor necessary for future commercial success will be to secure in advance steady supplies of smolt or fingerling's (baby fish) for each species chosen as best candidates given the location and environmental conditions of each respective production site. That process has already started.

I am not looking to do finfish using largely personal infrastructure nor personal money.  To put it quite bluntly, I’m getting too old to once again put my personal assets back on the line.  Been there.  Done that.  

Plus I don’t want to divert funds from our shrimp production operations because would delay both our shrimp expansion plans and push back the start-up of the finfish venture from early 2015 to mid 2016 with the first harvest sometime in 2019.

GBT shrimp will ultimately provide my family and our team and our investors with the long-term financial security everyone seeks.

Before we can even make a decision on a Global partner for GBT – FF, that funding source must accept unequivocally the triple bottom-line of GBT’s corporate culture.

That includes not just profitability but also strict adherence to environmental sustainability, and a strong commitment to social equity. 

Further, the fin fish investment entity must be fully cognizant that if the funding becomes immediately available to fast track finfish R&D to start in 2015, the actual commercial production would in all probability not be able to see a first harvest until 2017.

GBT is already considering the feasibility of designing and preparing to retrofit the old micro culture facility (behind the office building) on the GBT Copano Bay site to handle the finfish studies with the goal of having it ready to begin early in 2015. 

A young man with a Masters Degree in fish aquaculture and a strong research background in finfish, currently on the GBT- Cameron staff was specifically hired from the University of Southern Mississippi several months ago to head up the GBT finfish studies. He is currently learning and studying the GBT system at Copano Bay with an eye to specific finfish species suitability.

I have to decide whether to begin to aggressively seek a “Global Partner(s)” or find foundation funding, or bite the "proverbial" bullet and fund it myself.

The downside of the latter alternative is that given the current potential shrimp expansion over the next six months, neither GBT nor myself would not be able to divert monies to start the fin fish R&D until mid 2016 at the earliest. 

That would put the start date to look for a location, funding, and prospective investors off until 2018 at the earliest and perhaps longer.   

GBT-FF needs at minimum 12-18 months to run the environmental parameters and feed consumption ratios in a comparative analysis before deciding which species are the optimum candidates for respective targeted locations.

If a GP that "fits"cannot be found within the next few months, then other “alternatives” discussed about remain viable.  

However, I cannot think of any “downside” to starting to search for the right “Global Partner” to accelerate the start the GBT finfish venture now. 

Heaven knows the world's oceans need something more than lip service and they need it sooner not later.