Alec enters the Velella drifter pen
When: Monday, April 25, 2016, 5 p.m.
Where: NELHA Gateway Center
Presenter: Neil Anthony Sims, M.Sc., Kampachi Farms, LLC
Kampachi Farms’ Kona research team has pioneered the Velella project, demonstrating two new concepts in Federal waters: untethered, open ocean ‘drifter pens’; and “over-the-horizon aquaculture”™. The first Velella trial was awarded one of TIME Magazine’s 25 Best Inventions of the Year, in 2012. Since then, Kampachi Farms deployed a single-point mooring mariculture array 6 miles west of Keauhou, HI, in water 6,000 feet deep. The array is attached to an unmanned barge equipped with wireless communications and IP-enabled automation equipment. Neil Sims will discuss the latest developments in open-ocean mariculture and the automation that makes it possible.
Neil is co-Founder and co-CEO of Kampachi Farms, LLC, based in Kona, Hawaii, and in La Paz, Mexico. The company’s focus – in all their work - is on softening mankind’s footprint on the sea. The team also works in two other broad areas of interest: reducing the reliance on fishmeal and fish oil in kampachi diets, by developing alternative feedstuffs; and diversification of the species of fish available for culture in open ocean, including the imperiled native Hawaiian Giant Grouper, mahimahi, and herbivorous reef fish.
After the presentation, we will have pupus, drinks, and conversation. We are informal and it is potluck, so please bring a pupu and non-alcoholic beverage to share. Reusable plates and cups are encouraged, as is taking home your own trash.
Agenda:
5:00-5:15 p.m. Gather and Networking
5:15-6:15 p.m. Presentation and Q&A
6:15-7:30 p.m. More Networking, pupus