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Taste of BC Aquafarms to roll out new RAS metrics

In an effort to help investors better understand its recirculating aquaculture system business, Taste of BC Aquafarms said it is introducing a new key operating performance metric.

Ben Atkinson, president of the the Nainaimo-based aquaculture company said the changes involves realigning the operating metrics of Taste of BC’s larger facility with those of the firm’s smaller facility.

“We have started modeling out our larger facility of 1,500 metric tons to meet the same operating metrics as our existing 80-ton capacity farm,” he said. “We believe we have the right formula to scale this in a significant way over the next several years, with an internal goal of 21,000 metric tons by 2028.”

Taste of BC is a RAS pioneer in Canada. The company was acquired by West Palm Beach- based Blue Star Food Corp

The new metrics involve fish harvest weight, harvest percentages and feed conversion ratios.

Average Fish Harvest Weight

• Over the last 6 months, ending June 30^th, 2021, the average fish harvest weight has been 2.218Kg. The company targets a minimum of weight of 2kg for its Steelhead Salmon product. Each specific fish species has a different target weight, and for refence, open net Atlantic Salmon generally has an average harvest weight target weight of approximately 4.5kg⁽¹⁾.

Average Harvest Downgrade Percentage

• Over the last 6 months, ending June 30^th, 2021, the total harvest downgrade percentage was 1.36%. This metric measures the number of fish at harvest that Taste of BC did not bring to market at full price in the last stage of the lifecycle.

Average Feed Conversion Ratio

• Over the last 6 months, Taste of BC achieved a feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 1.08KG Feed/Kg, versus the industry standard for open net FCR of 1.2 KG feed/kg.

“Taste of BC has a proven methodology and many years of experience growing fish that people really enjoy consuming,” said John Keeler, chief executive officer of Blue Star Foods Corp. “We encourage investors in the space to look at our operating metrics and compare them to other RAS farm projects.”