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Neil Anthony Sims. CEO. Neil is a marine biologist (B.Sc. James Cook University; M.Sc. University of New South Wales), with a professional commitment to "softening mankind's footprint on the seas". Neil worked in fisheries management and development in the South Pacific during the 1980s.
Dec 4, 2023 · By Inland Ocean Coalition. About half the world’s seafood now comes from aquaculture, rather than wild caught fishing. We talk with founder and CEO Neil Sims about Ocean Era's work with fin fish veggie diets, offshore pens, growing seaweed for food and fuel, climate-friendly diets, and more.
About. Pioneer in innovative offshore mariculture. Neil has led R&D teams in marine fish hatchery development and grow-out; sustainable fish feeds; selective breeding; net pen trials; offshore ...
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Americans import 90 percent of their seafood, 50 percent of which comes from aquaculture, but permitting remains a barrier to expanding offshore fish farms.
Submersible net pens at Blue Ocean Mariculture in Hawaii hold thousands of Hawaiian kanpachi, a popular fish among chefs.
The fish farm is only half a mile from the Island of Hawaii's coast, but the water is deep, up to 240 feet, and the current is strong. Breaking the blue horizon, two of Blue Ocean Mariculture’s 110-foot-tall netted pyramids protrude, swaying with the waves. Fifty feet of each net pen floats underwater.
Inside these enclosures are about 100,000 Hawaiian kanpachi, roughly five pounds each, waiting to be harvested and sold. A type of yellowtail, I watched the fish flash streaks of silver when the sun hit just right below the water’s surface. This species has become increasingly popular among American chefs, proving versatile in dishes with a meaty yet flakey texture.
The United States imports 90 percent of the seafood it consumes—from shrimp to salmon to crab. Across the globe, more than 50 percent of seafood comes from aquaculture.
Along the coasts in U.S. state waters, you can find shellfish farms from Virginia to Maine, trout hatcheries in Washington State, and salmon recirculating aquaculture systems in Florida. But the country only has one offshore farm, the one off the coast of Hawaii.
The concept of fish farming isn’t foreign to Hawaiians. The state has a rich and robust history of aquaculture; its people have relied on ancient techniques, like the use of fish ponds, for thousands of years.
But for an offshore farm today in any other state, receiving permits is a timely, costly, and fragmented process; the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Army Corps of Engineers, and the state all have a say and a role in issuing permits and reviewing business plans. The public has opportunities to weigh in throughout the process, and lawsuits are also common, such as an animal rights group that’s sued the Environmental Protection Agency for its approval for an offshore demonstration permit off the coast of Sarasota, Florida.
Blue Ocean's story began in 2001, when it launched as a project to demonstrate how an offshore farm would survive in and impact the ocean in Hawaii. With one net pen in the water, the company kept a close eye on water quality, fish health, and environmental impacts. It proved successful, and eight years later, the Hawaii-based company turned into the first and only commercially operating offshore farm to raise finfish in the U.S.
On a sunny day in June, I put on my mask and snorkel and jumped into the sea. The water a gradient blue, almost black, as I swam around the pen and tried to see the ocean floor—and couldn’t. Instead, and as evidence of the farm's cleanliness, coral, one of the most volatile and sensitive organisms, grew on the steel portions of the pens. Sealife such as sergeant majors, giant trevally, and monk seals were abundant, swimming around the cage, keeping an eye on me. I was told the sharks were there, too, but in deeper waters below; they’d be by the nets later in the day.
Neil Sims, the founder of Blue Ocean and now the CEO of the research and development company Ocean Era, isn’t done trying to expand offshore farms to other states. He regularly flies to Florida from Hawaii to pursue another demonstration project—which consists of one net pen—in the Gulf of Mexico.
He’s going on year six—and, because of permitting roadblocks, there isn’t a net pen in the Gulf.
The biggest hurdle for offshore expansion is the permitting process, says Dick Jones, CEO of Blue Ocean.
Congress has its eye on the issue, however. Both the House and the Senate reintroduced a bipartisan bill called Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act. The bill would create national standards for offshore aquaculture and clarify a regulatory system for farming fish in the U.S. ocean.
The Science-based Equitable Aquaculture Food (SEAfood) Act has also been introduced in the House with bipartisan support, which would authorize studies and pilot programs related to the development and production of offshore aquaculture.
Beyond Congress, the White House this year created the Ocean Climate Action Plan, in part looking to “reduce costs and time frames for siting and permitting for new and existing commercial-scale aquaculture operations.”
It’s evident the government is gaining a pulse on the issue, but timelines remain unclear for when decisions will be put into action.
“If both sides can agree on the areas of deviation and we can get legislation passed, the U.S. aquaculture industry will soar,” Jones says.
- Hannah Farrow
Professor Neil Sims is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield. His first degree was in Mechanical Engineering, and after a year in industry he returned to Sheffield to study for a PhD.
Oct 9, 2020 · Juvenile almaco jack. Photograph courtesy of Neil Sims. A A. Neil Sims, the co-founder and CEO of Ocean Era, stressed what he thought was an important point about his offshore almaco jack...
Jul 25, 2012 · Marine biologist Neil Sims, Co-CEO of Kampachi Farms, is working to produce sustainable seafood for a growing planet. Sims and his team used an Aquapod – an unanchored fish pen tethered to a...
