By Janet Krenn, staff writer; additional reporting by Chris Patrick, staff writer
As keynote speaker on November 14, 2015, Jon Rowley told the 207 attendees at the Virginia Aquaculture Conference, many seafood-serving restaurants “don’t have the time to do the dreaming they need to do.”
Rowley, who calls himself a professional dreamer, was described as a “fish missionary” by the famous chef and author Julia Child. He has built a 30-plus-year career around training fishermen and restaurants in how to handle seafood and dream up new ways to market it.
Rowley’s portfolio of work, from working with individual fishermen on methods of on-board handling of fish to hosting large press and public events, all points toward two takeaway strategies for seafood producers: Ensure a high-quality product and then get consumers excited.
It’s a timely message for Virginia’s aquaculture industry.
“Aquaculture is booming right now, and the industry wants to see that growth continue,” says Karen Hudson, conference organizer and Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) extension staff affiliated with Virginia Sea Grant.
Virginia’s aquaculture industry leads the nation in hard clam production and the East Coast in oyster production and is ranked 11th nationally in total aquaculture sales. Continuing the industry’s leadership and growth will depend on staying ahead technologically while focusing on business strategies to promote its product—and that’s what the Virginia Aquaculture Conference is all about.
Part of growth means keeping an eye on the competition. For Virginia oyster growers, the main competitors are those in Louisiana. During the “Oyster Prices—What Goes Up, Must Come Down?” session, Tom Murray, VIMS extension staff affiliated with Virginia Sea Grant, described how supplies from the two states affect prices. In the past, a 10% increase in Louisiana supply has lowered the price of oysters in Virginia by almost 14%. The opposite is also true: A 10% decrease in Louisiana production can increase the price of Virginia oysters by almost 14%. Oyster growers in Virginia need to stay aware of these changes in supply.
“Some of you have some unique markets and there’s some price protection there,” Murray told the room. “However, be aware that any such protection is only within a range of supply and prices and those supply ranges will likely change.”
A more rigorous handle on internal monitoring can reduce uncertainty, too. Referring to the Oyster Enterprise Budget, which many growers use to forecast profitability of their oyster farms, Murray notes that the accuracy of the model depends on the accuracy of information that the growers put in. So, he cautions, “Pay attention to the assumptions in your model.”
If one thing is clear from the Virginia Aquaculture Conference, it’s that businesses aren’t alone. At the event, industry members had opportunities to learn from not only state university and agency leaders, but also from one another.
“One of the things that many people commented on this year was how impressed they were with the networking opportunities,” says Hudson. “We had a wide range of businesses, from small start-ups to large, established companies, and it seems to have sparked more exchange of ideas than before.”
Al Sunseri, President of P&J Oyster Company in New Orleans, compared the conference to similar ones he’s attended in his home state, where he estimated a handful of industry members come out.
Looking at the large attendance at the conference and recognizing the technological advances through academic research, Sunseri applauded those present for taking advantage of the opportunity to attend the conference.
“You all need to look at this university system and support and be very proud of it,” he told attendees.
Since 2009, the Virginia Aquaculture Conference has been held on odd-numbered years, providing finfish and shellfish aquaculture industry members an opportunity to learn about current and upcoming issues, explore new technology, and interact with others in the industry. The next conference is planned for 2017.
