March 26, 2007

 

New 'Chicken of the sea' debuts at US seafood show

 

 

A freshwater-raised cobia has been touted as the next chicken of the sea by a Virginian company at the Boston Seafood Show.

 

The company said it is using patented technology to produce the fast-growing, high-yielding marine fish.

 

The freshwater-raised cobia would fill growing consumer demand for marine fish high in Omega 3 fatty acids without burdening the ocean, said Bill Martin, chairman of Virginia Cobia Farms in Saltville.

 

The company eventually plans to produce up to 200 million pounds of cobia a year at its Southwestern Virginia farm. 

 

This would have been a-third of the catfish volume produced in the Delta and other southern states.

 

However, if the project takes off, it would bring jobs and revenue to the impoverished region in Southwest Virginia.

 

The company uses technology from MariCal, a biotechnology firm which discovered a way to raise saltwater species in low-salinity fresh water.

 

Dr. William Harris president and chief scientific officer of MariCal said many marine fish naturally adapt to variations in salinity and that some species, including salmon, spend part of their lives in fresh water.

 

The company's technology uses a protein that serves as a calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), which was described as a "molecular thermostat."

 

The fish is not genetically modified, nor are antibiotics and hormones added.

 

The process simply triggers a response in the natural sensor in the fish that allows it to adapt to the new conditions, Harris said.

 

Fully grown Cobias can weigh 150 pounds and measure up to 2 metres.