By Timothy B. Wheeler , tim.wheeler@baltsun.com|July 01, 2009
Yonathan Zohar beams like a proud parent as he cradles the freshly netted fish in his hands.
He didn't catch this glistening branzini. He raised it - and thousands more - in large fiberglass tanks at the Columbus Center at the Inner Harbor.
"This is a happy moment here," says Zohar, director of the Center of Marine Biotechnology at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. "Green fish, as good as it gets. Clean, environmentally friendly, sushi-quality fish, delivered to the restaurant a few hours after harvesting."
Zohar and his team of scientists and technicians have been laboring for years to perfect techniques for captive breeding and rearing of fish as quickly and cleanly as possible. For marine species like branzini, otherwise known as European seabass, they make artificial sea water, then recycle nearly all of it, filtering out waste and even capturing methane to offset some of the energy used in raising the fish in captivity.
With public interest growing in sustainable seafood, they hope to demonstrate the commercial viability of their fully contained, land-based, indoor fish farm.
"This is the next wave of seafood development," Zohar predicts. "We know we are running out of fish. We know we cannot continue to hunt and gather."
Experts have been warning for some time that the Earth's oceans can no longer be relied upon to meet the global demand for seafood. According to U.N. estimates, 75 percent to 80 percent of wild fish stocks worldwide are overfished or nearly so.
While gains have been made in recent years in managing harvests, the seemingly insatiable demand for seafood has fed an explosion of fish farming. Nearly half the fish consumed worldwide were raised rather than caught, the United Nations says.
Aquaculture, though, has produced its own environmental issues, including water pollution from the concentrated fish waste and potential contamination of the fish. Some decry the sacrifice of vast quantities of less valuable fish to feed the pricier farmed ones.
UM's marine biotechnology center has worked out a better way to farm fish, Zohar contends, which addresses the complaints of many of aquaculture's critics. The fish swim in 12-foot diameter tanks holding 3,200 gallons of water, the temperature and suitability constantly monitored by computer.
