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From the Editor: It’s a global affair

As an international magazine for the recirculating aquaculture industry, we carry a sense of responsibility to look beyond the big players and find new places where this technology is transforming the region’s aquaculture industry. 

It can be a challenge for me, as an editor, to look for RAS in places we’ve never written about before. Although we are so lucky to have writers contribute from all around the world, there are still corners that we have yet to crack. But in this issue, we attempt to do just that. 

We have a global scope for this issue, starting with the cover story. We look at RAS technology as a solution for the fluctuating market for salmon. When world economies are rattled by supply shortages and natural ecosystems are disrupted by climate change, RAS could be a solution to stabilizing an unsettled food production industry.

The story talks to RAS producers in the United States but the industry knows that the innovation and leadership of these companies could have global industry implications. RAS industry professionals will care about how these big players ride through an unpaved landscape. 

Speaking of world economies and supply shortages, we also had to look deeper into Ukraine’s aquaculture industry. In the midst of war, the farmers are unsung heroes. The country is challenged to feed its population, let alone its fish. But as the world has learned quickly this year, Ukrainians are a persevering people; determined to preserve their way of life. I know I am not the only one who is inspired by the sense of responsibility RAS farmers have embraced in a time of such turmoil. 

Another corner that we get to explore in this issue is New Zealand. A senior aquaculture technician from the Cawthron Institute gives us a behind-the-scenes look to this science organization’s research facility. RAS technology in a research application has to be resilient, adaptable and reliable. When conducting trials and experiments, these systems are also tested. 

Chile knows this well, too. In an effort to expand from its Atlantic salmon and mussels industry, the federal government has been funding several research and development programs to pursue other species in RAS. Universities, research centres and industry leaders are all working together to find new commercial pursuits. This world leader in salmon production could soon position itself as a world leader for more species. 

I hope to do more issues like this in the future, where we can show you the different ways that the power of RAS can be harnessed. I want to take the international scope of this brand seriously and find new places that the industry can learn from. If I am to take a page out of Atlantic Sapphire CEO Johan Andreassen’s handbook, I have to take the challenge on boldly. I want to find more stories in Africa, South Asia, the  Middle East, the Arctic and wherever else we haven’t explored. 

Maybe I also look to you, the readers, to reveal corners of the RAS industry that I’ve never looked at deeply before. My inbox continues to remain open, so if you have stories that you want to see told in RAStech Magazine’s pages, please email me at jkodin@annexbusinessmedia.com.