Part II will follow the Part I presentation “From Hatchery to Harvest” that discusses the University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) community-scaled, integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) system called the AquaFort [1, 2]. In Part I, information was provided from the latest growout (2023-2024) of 4000 juvenile steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at the UNH permitted site. Part II will focus on the processing of trout, sales and distribution to markets in Portsmouth, NH and Boston, MA.
Weekly harvests were conducted from June through September 2024 onboard a 35’ lobster vessel called the R/V Sugar Daddy. Trout averaged 2.5 kg with some close to 5.5 kg. A seine net was used to capture and corral trout close to the surface for dip netting and placement into an Xactic with an ice brine slurry. After 10-15 min, fish would succumb and then be spiked in the brain cavity to instantaneously euthanize the fish. This in known as Ike jime, a traditional Japanese slaughter technique. Fish are then thoroughly bled and undergoes spinal cord destruction (shinkei jime). This preserves the flesh at a high quality that’s ready for sushi grade markets. Trout were then gutted, rinsed and packed in coolers with ice. Current and previous markets mostly focused on a gutted, heads on product that’s delivered to local restaurants and seafood outlets at prices ranging from $6.00-9.00/lb. This year, new markets were explored to increase the shelf life and value of the uniquely grown, IMTA fish. Seafood processors were sourced in Boston to fillet, debone, smoke and vacuum pack 4-6 oz packets that were frozen. This presentation will share insight into the costs of fish processing, packaging and movement of trout to the marketplace.
[1] Chambers, M., Coogan, M., Doherty, M, Howell, H. 2024. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture of steelhead trout, blue mussel and sugar kelp from a floating ocean platform. J. Aqua. 582:740540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2024.740540.
[2] Chambers, M.D., Coogan, M., Doherty, M., Berghahn, E., Fredriksson D.W. 2024. AquaFort, a floating, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system. W. Aqua. Mag. 55(3): 34-36. https://www.was.org/Magazine/2024/03/34/#zoom=z