BAJA SEAS: THE FIRST COMMERCIAL YELLOTAIL HIRAMASA, Seriola lalandi, FARM IN MEXICO

Baja Seas is a full cycle & environmentally responsible Yellowtail (Seriola lalandi) aquaculture production farm, located in Baja California, Mexico. Established in 2012, and started to harvest in 2014 and has done so every week since then. Its growout operation is an offshore concession of 300 hectare under license in Magdalena Bay in Baja South. Ocean Baja Labs is a Yellowtail juvenile production facility located in Erendira, about 200 km south of the US-Mexican border, which it's a state of the art juvenile production facility, all produced in a closed, recirculating seawater system. This hatchery has a one million, 10 grams Yellowtail production capacity with an infrastructure that includes: a 2,500 square meters construction, in a water proof and thermal isolated building, with a 230 cubic meters seawater holding tank, 4 broodstock 70 cubic meters tanks, each of them simulating the different season of the year seasons to condition the adult fish to maturing and have spawning throughout the year.  This presentation will include production results such as growth rate, survivalship and feed conversion rate of different lots. Also will include water quality such as seawaters temperature, which ranges from 15 to 28 ^oC. and oxygen content in the seawater 4.8 to 7.8 mg/lt trough out the year, and no harmful algal blooms reported. The major obstacles presented include operational logistics in a remote area, a lack of professional aquaculture services and a domestic commercial marine feed, thus currently using Ewos feed, manufactured in Canada. We had started a health and genetic program with experts from Mexico and overseas. We harvested approximately 70 metric tons in 2015 and has fish stocked in pens for 
350 tons plus harvest capacity for 2016.  The Farm has capacity for 2,400 metric tons, and possibilities to grow only limited by 
market demand & financial capacity. Our featured product is called Baja Hiramasa, is Premium quality, sushi grade, high fat content (Rich in Omega 3). 
 We are currently in expansion mode and are looking for strategic partners that can complement Baja Seas project and grow to the next level in volume and market penetration. The present challenge is to continue developing the market for Baja Hiramasa, and consolidate the farm as a business.