[Parlay44]

The Fish Matrix is real: this gigantic deep ocean sphere will raise 1,000 tons of tuna

This is the Oceansphere, a gigantic highly automated fish farm that will grow 1,000 tons of ahi and bluefin tuna from eggs to harvest size at a depth of 1,300 feet a few miles off the coast of Hawaii.

There's lots to say here about the technology, which includes an automatic feeding system, water quality sensors, and thrusters that keep the sphere stationary, but let's all just marvel at the fact that the Fish Matrix is real and set to begin installation by the end of the year. Hawaii Oceanic Technology CEO Bill Spencer told West Hawaii Today that this first sphere is mostly about refining the technology, but that after installation and testing the earliest harvest could occur in late 2017.





"Our primary goal is technology."

The Oceansphere project has been years in the making — the video above is from 2008 — and HOT has been fighting legal and regulatory battles the entire time to make it reality. According to West Hawaii Today, 1,700 people signed a petition opposing the sphere, and 400 more wrote letters opposing the extension of construction deadlines in 2012. "The bottom line is the benefit does not outweigh the risks, no matter what kind of fish they plan to grow," Diane Kanealii of theKailapa Community Association in Kawaihae told the paper, while Rob Parsons of Food & Water Watch is quoted calling it a "factory feedlot in our ocean."

That's probably not going to stop HOT, which thinks the global market for deep sea fish farming equipment will be worth $75 billion by 2020, according to Fish Information & Services. "The deep ocean is the only place left to produce enough seafood naturally to feed the world efficiently, economically and with minimal environmental impact," Spencer told Big Island Now. "Our primary goal is technology."

It is not clear if the fish will be given the choice between blue and red pills.

[kbell]

Hopefully what they are feeding the fish is the same is what the eat in the wild. They tend to add dyes to the fish afterward to make the meat look more appetizing as well.

[The Lizard of Oz]

The Fish Matrix is a good name for a rock band... they could open for Mech's favorite, the Midland Incels.

[BortimusPrime]

Farm fish is nasty, they should just nuke China and Japan then we can have all the good wild-caught fish for ourselves.

[Veloce]

Farmed Fish has a bad reputation because of the insipid "Atlantic" salmon that's been sold in grocery stores and in restaurants over the past couple decades. That shit is nasty.

But there are many aquaculture companies that are producing amazing quality farmed fish, with organic feeds, plenty of fresh ocean water, advanced filtration systems. There's one I was using from NZ called Ora King http://orakingsalmon.co.nz/our-story/

This shit is better than most wild salmon I've had. With wild salmon, there's a huge variance in quality depending on when the fish was caught during its spawn cycle. The best of wild salmon is no doubt the best in the world, but high end farmed salmon isn't too far behind. It's just too bad that this stuff typically isn't available to consumers in the U.S. and has to be bought in restaurants at a 4x markup.

Think about it like this: When you eat chicken or any meat for that matter, you're eating farmed meat. Less than 1% of all meat consumed is wild, which is usually hunters eating their own game. The "Cow Matrix" has been going on for a long, long time.

By the same logic, it doesn't make sense to rely completely on wild seafood. There is now sustainably raised Bluefin Tuna being sold to restaurants and used by some of the most high end, expensive restaurants in the U.S. I've had it and 99% of people wouldn't know the difference. In turn, this could potentially give wild bluefin stocks a chance to recover.

All the stereotypes still exist; that fish are cramped in pens and eat each other's shit, are given additives that change the color of their flesh, given antibiotics, escape pens and breed with wild stocks...etc etc etc. All of those are stereotypes applied to the classic "Atlantic" salmon, that mass produced garbage that still goes on today. And the stereotypes are legit. It's a huge industry. But that doesn't apply to all aquaculture. It's like comparing a thousand acre GMO-ridden corn farm in Iowa to a hippy in NorCal growing organic figs.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

Try as I might, I simply don't see those "risks" the article is referring to, unless we're talking about the economic risk of the produced fish being too expensive. Someone enlighten me please.

[tarquin]

One of the main risks used to be higher localized concentrations of ammonia causing or contributing to dead zones or even algal blooms.

With careful monitoring and technological advances, these risks almost disappear. This is a very positive thing for the ocean. Perhaps wild stock will recover once those types of commercial fishing are uneconomical.

[Foolsgo1d]

I hope Japan and China put money behind these farms because I am against their wholesale slaughter of anything that crawls and swims from the ocean.

Better question, what happens if these spheres get punctured and the fish get away or hunters of Tuna get in?

Hurricanes are an issue too are they not? They could affect the top-side part of the facilities.

[kbell]

If they get punctured and they are as deep as they say, all of the fish will die almost instantly. The pressure of the ocean will kill them.