Florida redfish farmer breaks ground on new RAS facility
US land-based fish farmer Pine Island Redfish has broken ground on a new commercial recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility at an 80-acre site on Pine Island in Lee County, Florida, after securing US $6 million in Series A funding.
Pine Island Redfish has already developed and validated its commercial production model at Mote Aquaculture Research Park in Sarasota, Florida, and will continue to produce redfish (red drum) there as construction progresses in Lee County.
“Breaking ground on Pine Island is an exciting milestone for our company and will fulfill a substantial demand for locally produced seafood,” said Megan Sorby, co-founder and chief executive of Pine Island Redfish.
“We’ve proven our production model, built strong relationships with customers, and demonstrated real demand for our redfish. Now, with the support of our investors, we’re ready to take the next step and expand production on our namesake Pine Island.”
The new Pine Island facility will support the company’s integrated approach to regenerative aquaculture, in which nutrients generated through redfish production are recovered and repurposed to cultivate plants. A central component of this initiative is the cultivation of mangroves for coastal restoration. Working with community partners, Pine Island Redfish has cultivated and replanted nearly 75,000 mangrove plants to date, supporting restoration efforts across southwest Florida.
Mangrove cultivation is already under way at the Pine Island expansion site, where the nursery will grow alongside the company’s seafood operations.
“For us, sustainability goes beyond how we raise our fish,” said Sorby, who has an aquaculture degree from Stirling University’s Institute of Aquaculture.
“It’s about finding value in the resources our systems produce and putting them back to work. As we build out Pine Island, we have an opportunity to demonstrate true regenerative aquaculture, demonstrating how commercial seafood production and environmental restoration can grow together.”
Speaking to potential investors in London in 2024, Sorby said the capacity in Sarasota means Pine Island Redfish limits to producing two cohorts of fish per year, each resulting in 10-14 weeks of significant harvest in the spring and in the autumn. It had grown fish to an excess of 3kg in 14 months.
Sorby told investors the company intended to initially produce between 600 and 800 tonnes of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) annually at Pine Island, then scale up to 1,500 tonnes. There is plenty of room for further expansion at the site.
In November last year, Sorby told LandbasedAQ.com that the company had developed its saltwater wells on Pine Island, prepared land and a pad for intake filtration, and hadbuilt out nursery space for cultivating mangrove propagules for coastal restoration efforts along Florida’s coast.