NEIL SIMS: Ocean Pioneer

In 2007 the Ocean Energy Council, at their annual conference, bestowed on me their Ocean Energy Pioneer award.  Tomorrow, I will go into detail on why.  Today, I pass on the baton to a longtime colleague who does much more than pontificate and dream.

Neil Sims sent me an e-mail with information about his latest ocean initiative.  I first knew about him as an innovator in growing pearl oysters.

More than three decades ago I joined a former Hawaii governor and then dean of engineering at the University of Hawaii to start a pearl culture company at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii.  You can read the details of how I went all the way to Australia to recruit this world authority on the subject, Neil Sims, and as importantly, his wife Kate.  Over a Wolf Blass Black, I convinced them to join the effort in Hawaii.  I recently checked, and this wine now costs $68.  The Platinum is double that.  In his communication, he indicated that the next time we got together, the Wolf Blass treat, which comes from Australia, will be his.  I'll see if a Platinum will be available.

Here is some additional information from those early days, plus a more recent one, in 2009, a trip I took to that Kona ocean lab to participate in a special lunch sponsored by Neil, featuring his Kona Kampachi.  To the left is Neil with his Kampachi.

Background:

• Global fisheries are under growing pressure. At the same time, the planet’s burgeoning population, greater affluence and more consumer health awareness are all driving increased seafood consumption.
• Aquaculture offers a business solution to address this challenge, while also relieving further pressure on wild fish stocks.

• 
  The Nature Conservancy and the United Nations High Level Panel on Climate Change and the Oceans, are also advocating for a greater shift to marine‐based food production systems, to reduce the impacts on water and land‐use, and greenhouse gas emissions from terrestrial agriculture.
• The potential global benefits are amplified for low food‐chain herbivorous fish such as nenue, because of the additional ecosystem services and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the volume of fresh, air‐freighted seafood to Hawai’i, such as opakapaka from Indonesia, would also result in a lower carbon‐footprint.

• 
  Increased seafood availability is also critically important for U.S. food security. The U.S. already imports over 90% of the seafood that we consume, and around half of that is farmed. However, we have almost no control over the animal welfare or food safety standards, or the environmental impacts of aquaculture in other countries.

• 
  

  As an island state, Hawai’i has a special connection with the oceans, and her bounty. Hawai’i has the highest seafood consumption rate in the country, at almost 37 pounds per person . Yet, 63% of seafood sold commercially in Hawai’i is imported from overseas.
• Ocean Era, Inc., is a leader in the development of offshore fish farming. 

• 
  In 2004, the company’s principals established the Kona Kampachi hatchery and offshore operation near Keahole Point, in Kona (currently operated by Blue Ocean Mariculture). 
• For the last 15 years, this operation has been producing around 500 – 600 T per year of sashimi‐grade Hawai’ian Kanpachi (Seriola rivoliana). 
• Further expansion of the Kona operation is now planned.

• 
  Between 2009 and 2013, the company operated two pioneering demonstration net pen projects in Federal waters, off the Kona Coast, in Hawai’i. 
• The Velella Beta‐test was the world’s first unanchored “drifter pen”, which moved with the eddy currents from 3 miles – 75 miles offshore. The 2,000 kampachi in the pen grew from fingerling to harvest size, and showed growth rates, feed conversion and survival rates far higher than in land‐based tanks or near‐ shore pens. 
• The subsequent Velella Gamma test used the same species, in the same net pen, on a single‐point mooring, in waters over 6,000 feet deep, six miles offshore of Keauhou, Kona. 
• This net pen was able to be monitored and fed completely by remote command‐and‐control, through the cloud. 
• Both Velella projects were immensely popular with the local fishing community in Kona, as the net pens acted as Fish Aggregating Devices, attracting tuna, wahoo, mahimahi and marlin.

• 

  In 2017, Ocean Era founded the Kampachi Mexico project, with a net pen site located four miles offshore in La Paz Bay, in the Sea of Cortez, in Mexico. 
• Ocean Era is also setting up a demonstration offshore array for limu (seaweeds) near Ka’iwi Point, in Kona, and is applying for the permits for Velella Epsilon ‐ a demonstration offshore net pen 40 miles off the coast of Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico.

• 
  Ocean Era has undertaken extensive research on the potential for herbivorous reef fish culture in offshore net pens. Growing herbivorous fish offers two broad potential advantages: ecological, and economic. 
• One of the frequently‐voiced concerns with aquaculture is that most marine fish are high on the food web, and therefore require diets rich in oils and proteins. These diets often contain fishmeal and fish oil from forage fish fisheries, such as anchovies and sardines. 
• However, herbivorous fish at the base of the food chain can thrive on seaweeds and other plant materials high in carbohydrates. This eliminates the reliance on wild fish stocks, and allows aquaculture to scale more sustainably.
• From an economic perspective, this also means that the feeds are less expensive, and the resulting product – the fish – is less costly for consumers. 
• Furthermore, if seaweed‐based diets can be developed for these species, this could provide economic incentives for expansion of seaweed farming, by stimulating demand.

So returning to the present;

• Ocean Era, Inc., is proposing to re‐establish an offshore aquaculture site off Ewa Beach, on the south shore of Oahu, Hawai’i. 
• The site was previously used to culture moi (Polydactylus sexifilis), from around 1999 to 2013. 

• 
  The purpose of the new offshore operation will be to culture two species of native fish
•  Nenue, Kyphosus vaigiensis, also known as chubs, or rudderfish (right)
• Moi (Polydactylus sexifilis, or Pacific threadfin) 
• along with a variety of native limu (seaweeds)
• ogo (Gracilaria)
• limu kohu (Asparagopsis taxiformis
•  limu lipoa (Dictyopteris plagiogramma)
• Halymenia and sea grapes (Caulerpa sp).
• 
  The proposed site is located approximately two miles offshore of Ewa Beach, on the south shore of Oahu. This site was formerly the location of the moi farm operated by Cates International, and then Hukilau Foods. The depth at the site ranges from around 140 feet deep on the nearshore side, to around 250 ft deep on the offshore end of the lease area. The seabed over the entire area consists of a bare sand substrate.

• The primary target market for the fish and limu will be consumers on Oahu.
• Contact Neil Anthony Sims at neil@ocean‐era.com to provide comments, or for information.

I'm now down to #5, and I again have two songs, both by  The Chiffons:  One Fine Day and He's So Fine.  The Vietnam War was beginning, so to avoid the draft I joined the heralded 442 Regimental Combat Team Army Reserve group, and in 1963 entered basic training, without a doubt the most physically difficult 16 weeks of my life (I volunteered for advanced infantry training).  These songs kept me going.  Interestingly enough, at the end of this training period, I was in the best shape of my life.

In the early 60's three of the Chiffons were schoolmates in the Bronx.  They added a fourth.  In 1961 they recorded One Fine Day, written by Ronnie Mack.  Reached #1.  Only a few months later came He's So Fine, by Gerry Goffin and Carole King (photo right).  This song made it to #5.  The group broke up  not long thereafter because of pregnancies.   A 1980 recording by Carol King reached #12.

In 1970 George Harrison released My Sweet Lord, the first #1 hit by an ex-Beatle.  Performing with Harrison were Billy Preston, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Badfinger.  Some say it sounded similar to He's So Fine, so the estate of Ronnie Mack filed a copyright infringement claim.  In 1975 the Chiffons recorded My Sweet Lord.  

Harrison said that if he copied anything, it was a Hindu mantra.  A judge finally indicated that Harrison subconsciously plagiarized.  Then it got complicated, for there was a settlement of $587,000 in 1981, but a buyout of the suing company came into play and the case continued in court until 1998.  The upshot was that now every new published song can also be sued because some commonality exists everywhere.  Carol King, for example, indicated they sort of copied Un Bel Di from Puccini's Madame Butterfly, with a different beat, for One Fine Day.

Let me end with various stars dancing to Footloose.   It was co-written and released by Kenny Loggins in 1984, for the film by the same name, and reached #1 on Billboard.  It lost out for the Oscar to Stevie Wonder's I Just Called to Say I Love You.  Weird Al Yankovic made an attempt at Footloose.

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