Aquaculture professionals gathered at the University of Miami last week for the fourth Aquaculture Investment Workshop, organized by USSEC’s Global Soy in Aquaculture Program and sponsored by the U.S. Soy Family and the Kansas Soybean Commission.
"We're investing in aquaculture because we think – we know – we know that this is going to be an industry that is going to be feeding soy to the fish,” USSEC Regional Director – Americas Francisco de la Torre told attendees. "You're already marketing this product, you're already buying this product. For those that market these seafood products, they have to see the advantages of buying products from aquaculture--there's a lot more flexibility and there's a lot more standardization in an aquaculture product than a product that's harvested from the sea.”
Approximately 90 representatives of the most cutting-edge aquaculture companies in Latin America and the Caribbean participated in the two-day workshop, which took place April 29-30, gathered to discuss current challenges and opportunities related to growing the industry in the region. Operators from established fish farms shared their success stories, and aspirational companies, who are just getting up and running, spoke of the technical and market particulars of their farmed species. Representatives from the investment, insurance and retail sectors also presented helpful information and advice for growing the burgeoning aquaculture industry.
The invitation-only workshop has evolved over the past three events into one of the most productive and informative conferences in the seafood industry. Participants are recognized as important players representing most sectors of the field and the event is a powerful opportunity for steering industry development in the right direction.
Mr. de la Torre, who organized the event with USSEC aquaculture consultant Jairo Amezquita, remarked at the close of the event that the collaborative nature of the workshop would help to move the industry forward.
“When we first started this workshop, we couldn’t find an aquaculture company who wanted to share their story. They would attend to listen, but wouldn’t feel comfortable talking about their business. Now, there’s a clear understanding that we’re all in this together, so we’re willing to help each other. We need to have a critical mass of healthy, farmed seafood in the marketplace.”
For more information on the Aquaculture Investment Workshop, read the live blog from Intrafish at https://www.intrafish.com/free_news/article1411080.ece.