‘Now is the time for NMI aquaculture’

Now is the time for entrepreneurs to jumpstart an aquaculture industry in the Commonwealth before the opportunity slips away, local shrimp farming pioneer Anthony Pellegrino said in a speech Friday before a landmark aquaculture workshop.

Non-profit groups and Northern Marianas College launched the workshop earlier this week in a bid to encourage the development of new aquaculture businesses that could help bolster the suffering economy. The workshop comes as NMC is preparing several aquaculture projects and Gov. Benigno Fitial is poised to sign legislation establishing bio-security safeguards needed to foster shrimp farms on Rota, where a new farm will soon begin operation.

Nationwide, the aquaculture industry is expected to see rapid growth in the coming years. Projections by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggest that domestic aquaculture production of all species could jump to 1.5 million tons of products annually by 2025, including 760,000 tons of fish, 47,000 tons of crustaceans and 245,000 tons from mollusks.

To take advantage of this growth potential, Pellegrino—founder of Saipan Syaqua Inc., the only local shrimp farming operation, which could soon see its first profits—said any local aquaculture ventures should start now before competition and market forces drive the opportunity elsewhere.

“Aquaculture is a fantastic industry and its future is ahead of us,” Pellegrino said. “We had better grab it now before somebody takes it away. Now is the time to jump in, not later.”

Moreover, Pellegrino noted that a host of loans and assistance is available for entrepreneurs to start raising shrimp, fish or other ocean crops. Like other businesses, planning is key to gaining the support needed for an aquaculture endeavor.

“If you have a good business plan and people who believe in you, you’ll find the money,” he said.

And the market for seafood, even species thought commonplace here, is booming, he added. For example, Pellegrino noted that Tilapia, a scavenger fish found in the Commonwealth, sells for $7 a pound in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, any new shrimp farmers in the Commonwealth can look forward to a lot of work, according to Saipan Syaqua’s general manager, Rommel Katalma. In a presentation, Katalma explained that shrimp farming is a round-the-clock business involving hours of water quality inspections, feeding, monitoring and attention.

“Shrimp growing is 24-hour work,” he said, noting that the company always has staff manning its shrimp tanks.