Deep sea aquaculture startup prepares for harvest | Cleantech Group

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Open Blue Sea Farms is one of five new companies the Cleantech Group spotted in the past week looking to raise money. Details in the Pitch o’ the week.

Cobia fish may be the next big thing in high-end restaurants, replacing the now high-priced Chilean seabass, which is suffering from illegal and overfishing.

New York-based Open Blue Sea Farms specializes in developing environmentally safe and sustainable deep ocean aquaculture methods, known as free-range fish farming, the company’s Executive Vice President Clive Zickel told the Cleantech Group.

But Zickel said even though the company is initially focused on raising cobia—a white, firm fish often caught for sport—it is planning to grow other species as well.

Zickel said most fish farming tends to be done close to shore or in ponds, where the fish often swim in dirty water, eat what they excrete, and mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls can become a problem.

“Out in the deep water, our lab tests don’t show any of that,” Zickel said.

The fish at sea are raised in large geodesic domes, about the size of a six-story building, which are raised only for cleaning. The structures are more expensive to build and secure to the ocean floor than traditionally-used methods.

However, Zickel said the financial trade off is that by feeding the cobia a healthy fish meal diet and allowing them to be raised in an environment more like their natural habitat, a better ...

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