It's harvest time at the Oceanic Institute. Researchers here are showing off what's called a recirculating aquaculture system where they're able to raise shrimp using a lot less water.
There's a lot less land that you're using a lot less water you're using so it's more environmentally sustainable," says Tony Ostrowski, Oceanic Institute President.
But it goes beyond that. Ostrowski says these shrimps have basically been bred to near perfection. In just 21 weeks, they've grown to the size of 20 to a pound. And they can grow in high density so ponds can be much smaller.
These shrimp that we're raising here are also bred through selective breeding, not GMO, selective breeding type technology, to improve their growth and improve their ability to be raised at high density in these types of systems," says Ostrowski.
It's a big deal, Ostrowski says, because the U.S. imports 90 percent of its shrimp mostly from Asia. That's about 1.3 billion pounds a year.
The technology used by Oceanic Institute would allow farmers here and the rest of the country to raise pacific white shrimp in a more sustainable and cost effective way that's also bio-secure, meaning free of diseases. And just as important, it will taste better.
Because what you're doing, you're producing a fresh shrimp, the shrimp that you're importing in are frozen and sitting on a dock for god knows how long," says Ostrowski.
As for the price, Ostrowski says it will be competitive but you're also paying for the freshness of the shrimp.
Oceanic Institute, which is an affiliate of Hawaii Pacific University is showing off the technology to attract more investors.
Ostrowski says we will likely see these shrimp regularly in hawaii stores in the next two to five years.
