Status: Archived Publication: The Miami Herald Edition: Final Section: Metro & State Page: 1B Kicker: FOOD PRODUCTION Headline: MAKING SURE WE DON'T RUN OUT OF FISH ByLines: BY SIDONIE SAWYER ssawyer@MiamiHerald.com Source: Dateline: Series: Summary: The University of Miami is playing a leading role in the rapidly expanding fish-farming industry. Intro: Corrections: Body: BY SIDONIE SAWYER ssawyer@MiamiHerald.com Earth, we have a problem. Humans are consuming fish faster than the oceans can replenish them. Scientists, who warn that overfishing could destroy the world's fish stock in the next 40 years, are seeking more commercially viable ways to increase fish production. Enter aquaculture. The University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science has become a leader in the growing field of cultivation of fish under controlled conditions. Just as farming replaced gathering and the raising of livestock replaced hunting as means of feeding mass populations, aquaculture is a way of providing fish to the markets of the world and the restaurant around the corner. Rosenstiel offers a degree in aquaculture with a program focusing on technological, environmental and economical operations. The program's director, Dr. Daniel D. Benetti, is involved in sustainable aquaculture projects in the United States, Australia, the Caribbean, Latin American, Europe and Asia. "The United States imports more than two-thirds of the seafood it consumes, and by far, most of it is farmed," Benetti said. But, he added, the United States "produces less than 5 percent of the total global seafood production, leading to an annual seafood trade deficit of over $8 billion and growing. "What's at stake here is much more than the dollar value," Benetti said. "If this trend continues -- and it seems to be -- we are creating another dependency on foreign goods." Benetti added that his research has determined that overfishing has pushed the oceans' food supply to the brink. "Seventy percent of fish stock is collapsing in every ocean and is not going to increase anymore," Benetti said. Eating less fish is not a very good option: Many experts have encouraged people to add more fish to their diets to enjoy the benefits of Omega 3 oil, low fat and low cholesterol, compared to consuming meat. Aquaculture first surfaced in Egypt and China around 4000 B.C. as a source of food and, as with Koï carp, simple beauty. FISH FARMS GROWING According to the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, aquaculture is the fastest-growing method of food production in the world. Already, almost half the fish consumed by humans is produced by fish farms. For the past 15 years, aquaculture has been used to provide salmon, tuna and other large fish to markets. Angela Caporelli, aquaculture coordinator for the state of Kentucky, said "I see a great potential for aquaculture in the U.S. Of all the protein sources, meat, poultry and fish, fish has the best feed conversion, so when you calculate feed and grain resources in to resources out, fish is a much better deal." The Rosenstiel School operates a cobia hatchery at its facility on Virginia Key. Cobia -- called ling in the Pacific and mud shark by some Miami anglers -- are bred here from wild fish, said Aaron Welch, research assistant at the hatchery. The fingerlings are shipped to cobia fish farms around the world, including the only one in U.S. waters, Snapperfarms, located a few miles off the coast of Puerto Rico, he said. Most of the 1,000 pounds of cobia Snapperfarms ships each week ends up in upscale fish and sushi restaurants in New York and Miami, said Jimmy O'Hanlon, president of J.C. Seafood in Miami, which processes and delivers the product to end users. Cobia is a good candidate for aquaculture because they don't travel in schools, which makes the species expensive to harvest commercially in the wild. They usually swim in pairs and mostly live in deep water, below 70 feet. They can live to be 25 years old. On the other hand, a single cobia can reach 150 pounds, making it a valuable and coveted prey for sport fishermen. In captivity, cobia hatch in 24 hours, mature in less than a year, can reach 40 to 70 pounds and can grow from three to seven feet. They resemble sharks, but with striking black, gray and silver stripes along their bodies. The Rosenstiel hatchery uses probiotics -- dietary supplements containing beneficial bacteria creating health benefits, including strengthening the immune system. No hormones and no antibiotics during the reproduction process. In October 2007, NOAA adopted a 10-year plan to establish aquaculture as a viable technology for replenishing commercial fisheries while also protecting the ecology. "As the nation's ocean agency, NOAA takes its stewardship responsibilities for marine resources seriously," said William T. Hogarth, assistant administrator for fisheries, in a written statement. He added that he believes "the plan emphasizes the appropriate safeguards for the protection of the marine environment." FISHERMEN'S JOBS NOAA and the Fishery Councils are also working on a plan to start fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida Keys. Potential conflicts have been raised for commercial fishermen, who fear losing business and jobs to fish farms that may produce more fish at a cheaper price. Some critics fear aquaculture could threaten the livelihoods of local fishermen. "The plan does not guarantee that commercial fishermen will benefit from ocean fish farming; in fact, often fishermen lose jobs when there is farming of species that are also wild-caught," said Tad Burke, head of the Florida Keys Fishing Guides Association. "This can happen because farming produces more fish, all the time, at a cheaper rate than catching them, so there is less of a market for wild fish." Burke also expressed concern about pollution caused by waste generated by so many fish in a small area, which could stress the waters off the Keys. "All science on the subject indicates that fish farms produce vast amounts of pollution, and anything that happens in the Gulf eventually ends up flowing through our bridges and over our already-stressed reef tract." Producing more fish can accomplish more than just feeding people, advocates say -- it can even reduce tensions among peoples. "History has shown that when food supply is scarce, humans resort to violent means to resolve the problem," Ronald Hsu, a sophomore at West Shore Senior High School in Melbourne, and a former Presidential Scholar of the White House Commission, wrote on the website ActionBioscience.org. "My hope is that aquaculture will provide the means to feed the Earths future human population cheaply, reliably, and safely." Keywords: Illustrations: color photo: Joana Rodrigues cleans a tank full of young cobia (a), Dr. Daniel Benetti (a); photo: Aquaculture tank (a) Captions: DONNA E. NATALE PLANAS/MIAMI HERALD STAFF STUDENT FARMER: Joana Rodrigues, a student at University of Miami, cleans a tank full of young cobia at the school's Virginia Key facility. The fish are shipped around the world. ROSENSTIEL SCHOOL MUCH AT STAKE: Dr. Daniel Benetti, director of UM's aquaculture program, on sustainable fish. ROSENSTIEL SCHOOL FISH FARM: UM's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science is a leader in aquaculture, or cultivating fish under controlled conditions. * * * * * * Miami Herald Media Co. The information you receive on-line from The Miami Herald Media Company is protected by the copyright laws of the United States. The copyright laws prohibit any copying, redistributing, retransmitting, or repurposing of any copyright-protected material.