1. Tell me why are you the best aquaculture farm manager for us?
My experience will benefit the company.
2. Suppose we need technical assistance and other information about Aquaculture in Massachusett?
There are a number of technical and information resources available in Massachusetts and abroad. Massachusetts is fortunate to have three regional state aquaculture centers located in southeastern northeastern and western Massachusetts. In addition to staff expertise at each of the centers, the centers also house a great deal of aquaculture information.
3. Explain what are the stages of shellfish farming?
There are five stages:
☛ Seed - The farming process begins with the collection of seed stock from existing wild stocks or from hatchery sources.
☛ Nursery - Nursery rearing of shellfish begins once the seeds have set and lasts until the juvenile shellfish are ready to be transferred to the grow-out site. Nursery rearing systems are intertidal, suspended in deep water, or built on land or floating rafts with seawater flow-through.
☛ Growout - Once seeds are at the right size, they are removed from the nursery sites, and put into socks, tubes, trays, lantern nets, or set on long lines, in bags, on tables, on the sea floor or the beach.
☛ Grading and Sorting - To ensure the highest survival and growth rates, it is essential to periodically sort and grade the stock into appropriate sizes. This must be done for oysters, clams or scallops especially during the juvenile stages.
☛ Harvest - It takes anywhere from 1½ to four years for shellfish to reach harvest size. Harvesting techniques range from hand harvesting to crew-operated harvest machines, and each species of shellfish requires different farming techniques.
4. Tell me why do we need fish farming in the first place?
Eating fish is good for your health, but there are not enough wild fish and shellfish to meet existing demand. Sustainable fishing goes hand-in-hand with fish farming. Only together can they produce enough fish to meet the demands of the growing global population without jeopardizing the long term future of our wild fish stocks.
In the EU we rely on imports for 68% of the seafood we eat. A significant proportion of which comes from fish farms. Only 10% of our consumption is farmed in the EU. Bringing more farmed fish to our plates means less pressure on wild fish stocks, less reliance on imports, and more jobs and growth in our local economies.
5. What is aquaculture farming?
The broad term aquaculture refers to the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of animals and plants in all types of water environments including ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Aquaculture is used for producing seafood for human consumption; enhancing wild fish, shellfish, and plant stocks for harvest; restoring threatened and endangered aquatic species; rebuilding ecologically-important shellfish habitat; producing nutritional and industrial compounds; and providing fish for aquariums.
6. Tell me what is your philosophy towards Aquaculture Farming?
The challenges in aquaculture. The job is not like ruitine because of the daily changes with the environment. This keeps me always on toes.
7. Tell me do we need a permit to establish an aquaculture operation in Massachusetts?
In order to protect natural resources of the Commonwealth from such problems as invasive species and water pollution, aquaculture is of necessity a highly regulated activity. Permits are required to import, hold, grow and transport fish. When large quantities of water are used or discharged, permits are also required.
8. Is fish farming a profitable business?
Yes, fish farming is very profitable
9. Explain what species of fish are important to the Aquaculture industry in Massachusetts?
Species grown in Massachusetts include Atlantic salmon, barramundi, bluegill, rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, brown bullhead, golden shiner, hybrid striped bass, koi, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, and tilapia. These species run the gamut from those native to the Commonwealth such as brook trout and Atlantic salmon to truly exotics such as the African tilapia and Australian barramundi. The reasons for culturing these species are as varied as the fish themselves: from recreational fishing to food to restoration efforts.
10. Why should we hire you as Aquaculture Farm Manager?
I have proven experience in fish farming management and human resources management. My experience and achievements can impact the company positively.
11. Tell me Is farmed salmon a healthy nutritional choice?
Both farmed and wild salmon are high in vitamins A and D and carotenoids, which are thought to help prevent cancer. Salmon is low in saturated fat, and contains 20 percent more protein than hamburger, steak and pork loin. Salmon is also an excellent source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
12. Why do you want a career as an aquaculture farm manager?
Please share your views.
13. Tell me do we need an aquaculture permit to breed aquarium/ornamental fish?
If you intend to breed and sell any aquarium/ornamental fish and your facility has a water holding capacity of 10,000 litres or more you will require an aquaculture permit.
Once I have an aquaculture permit, where can I sell my product?
Holding an aquaculture permit allows you to sell your product direct to retailers, the public or other markets eg restaurants and clubs, or through fish markets. .More information on available markets can be obtained by speaking to the various aquaculture associations.
14. Explain what feed is given to farmed salmon?
Strict raw material criteria are used to ensure a high quality feed. All of the ingredients used in both moist and dry aquaculture feed are approved for use by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Much of the protein used in fish feed comes from small, bony fish - such as anchovies and mackerel - which are unsuitable for human consumption. Other sources of protein include soybean meal, corn gluten meal, canola meal and wheat gluten and poultry by-products. Essential vitamins, minerals and carotenoids - which provide salmon with vitamin A and give salmon their pink colour - are added to the diet. All feed ingredients are of natural origin and of the highest quality.
15. Explain a situation where you had to make a quick decision?
Power survivals in ponds, fish dying after 15 days in ponds. I quickly changed the density and the procedure. This gave higher survivals.
16. Explain what was your biggest disappointment as an aquaculture farm manager?
Working with a very weak fish and the government not approving the improvement of the stock like introducing GIFT. Sometimes you practice the basic aquaculture and still get bad results.
17. Explain what are pigments?
In nature, fish such as salmon get their pink colour from eating crustaceans.. Carotenoids, the most common naturally occurring pigments, are given to farmed fish to provide Vitamin A, function as antioxidants, and enhance the animals' immune system. Carotenoids also give farmed fish, such as salmon and Arctic Char, their pink colour.
18. Tell me what are you doing to keep current in technology?
Please share your experience.
19. Tell me how long does it take to raise an animal?
This depends on the animal. For instance a salmon spends 1 ½ years in the hatchery and then 1 ½ - 2 ½ years in marine net pens. Oysters spend about 3 months in the hatchery then 7-8 months in juvenile culture systems, and a further 1 ½ - 2 ½ years growing to market size. Blue mussels can grow to market size in as little as 1 year and take up to 3 years depending on seed size, water temperatures and culture techniques. Marine worms take about 6 months to grow to market size.
20. Tell me what species of shellfish are farmed?
Mussels, oysters, clams and scallops are the most common species in Canadian aquaculture. We are investigating the farming of other species such as abalone, geoducks, quahogs and sea urchins
21. Tell me which species of salmon are farmed?
☛ Atlantic salmon
☛ Pacific salmon
☛ Coho salmon (also called silver salmon)
☛ Chinook salmon (also known as spring or king salmon)
☛ Rainbow trout
☛ Arctic Char
☛ Brook trout
22. Tell me where does fish feed come from?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 90 percent of global fishmeal production is from oily fish species such as anchovies, mackerel, pilchard, capelin and menhaden. These small, bony fish are generally unsuitable for human consumption. As an alternative to fishmeals, the aquaculture industry is increasingly using vegetable proteins and oils.
23. Tell me do salmon farms affect the sea floor beneath farm sites?
Aquaculture has the lightest environmental effects of any form of large-scale food production. These effects are limited largely to the ocean floor in the immediate vicinity of salmon farms, are short-term, and fully reversible. Salmon waste and uneaten food on the ocean floor can cause temporary oxygen reduction and other chemical changes as they decompose. For this reason, salmon farms are situated in deep waters over sand and silt sea bottoms with low fauna diversity. Some of the organisms that live in these soft sediments in fact thrive under salmon farms because the wastes are a source of food for them.
24. Do you know what is the Aquaculture in Massachusetts?
Aquaculture involves the manipulation of marine or freshwater organisms and/or their environment before eventual release, harvest, or capture; the controlled cultivation and harvest of aquatic animals and plants.
Marine aquaculture in the state is presently limited to the cultivation of shellfish (quahogs, oysters and scallops) for commercial, research, and propagation purposes. There are no coastal finfish farms in the state and only very limited work, primarily for research purposes, is dedicated to seaweed culture. Proposals for offshore fish farms and shellfish culture have just recently been proposed in the state and are undergoing permit review. The inland aquaculture industry is comprised primarily of a handful of highly technical recirculating facilities located mainly in the western part of the state (with one on Cape Cod). These facilities produce hybrid striped bass, tilapia, barramundi, trout and other finfish. Additionally, there are a number of small pond and flow-through facilities located throughout Massachusetts.
25. Tell me are fish oils associated with dioxins and PCBs?
A Canadian Food Inspection Agency study found that dioxin, furan and PCB levels in fish oil samples do not exceed the Canadian Guidelines for Chemical Contaminants and Toxins in Fish and Fish Products. Dioxins and Furans are measured in parts-per-trillion, while PCBs are measured in parts-per-billion. Levels in farmed fish are well below most wild fish and daily foodstuffs eaten by Canadians.
