Another leap for Hawai'i fish farming: Ahi spheres approved

Ocean farming has had a troubled past, but it's moving forward quickly as technology improves.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources just approved a Conservation District Use Permit for the latest and largest ocean aquaculture venture.

(Image: Artist's rendering of the Hawaii Ocean Technology fish farms, approved Friday by the land board. Credit: Hawaii Ocean Technology LLC)

Already in Hawai'i, you can buy moi from open ocean farms off south O'ahu. It's grown by Grove Farm Fish & Poi, and is served at fine restaurants across the state. Grove Farm Fish & Poi is planning to roughly quadruple its production in Mamala Bay. An early slideshow of predecessor company Cates International is here.

And you can get kahala or Kona Kampachi or Hawaiian yellowtail from Kona Blue Water Farms' ocean cages in waters deeper than 200 feet off Kona on the Big Island. See here.

Kona Blue uses a technology called Sea Station, which creates a flying-saucer-looking netted structure that can be raised and lowered in the water column. But the firm cites transportation costs to Mainland markets for a proposal to cut its production by 40 percent and look to Mexico for future growth.

There's another proposal by a venture called Indigo Seafood to put moi cages off the Big Island.

The most innovative new proposal is Hawaii Ocean Technology's Ahi Sphere project, which would be the largest ocean aquaculture project in the Islands to date. The land board approved the CDUA for the project Friday.

The company this year released its final environmental impact statement for its proposal to grow tuna in a fleet of twelve 160-foot-diameter “ocean spheres” which actually look more like geodesic domes than spheres.

“The company proposes to grow out the tuna to market size in offshore submerged cages, segregated by species, that are self-powered un-tethered 54m diameter 'Oceanspheres.' The proposed ocean lease site is a one square kilometer (247-acre) site, 1,320-feet deep, located 2.6 nautical-miles offshore Malae Point, North Kohala. Twelve Oceanspheres will be deployed incrementally over four years, culminating with an annual production capacity of 6,000 tons,” the report says.

It will be managed out of Kawaihae Harbor, and boats will be on site daily to handle feeding, harvesting and other duties. The baby fish—yellowfin and bigeye tuna-- will be grown at a University of Hawai'i facility.

Critics of sea farming ventures warn of disease among tightly-packed fish that could spread to wild populations. Of pollution from the concentrations of fish scat and uneaten fish food. Of attracting sharks. Of the loss of use of portions of the ocean.

The EIS addresses these issues at some length, but briefly, it argues:

The project will work with the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology to monitor and manage the project for disease control. The site has been selected for its strong currents, which will very quickly dilute and sweep away organic matter. The cages have powerful netting that should be impenetrable to sharks. And it says the area selected is not an actively fished zone—it is beyond the ono trolling grounds and deeper than most bottomfish grounds. Boaters will be permitted to transit through the lease area, as long as they stay 100 feet from the spheres, which will be marked with buoys.

The spheres will have GPS capability, will be self-propelled, and capable of maintaining position without being anchored to the sea floor.

© Jan TenBruggencate 2009

Biofuels: UN cites the good, the bad, the ugly

There's petroleum and there's biofuel. They can do much of the same thing, but they're really quite different, especially in their climate impacts.

As with much in life, it just ain't simple.

That's particularly the case with biofuels, which are playing an increasing role in the Hawaii energy picture. There's still sugar being converted into energy on Maui. There's talk of growing cane for ethanol and electricity on Kauai. And research into growing crops like Jatropha for biodiesel. There's research into oil from algae. And more

The hype has been that:

1) You get a severe climate result when you suck oil or bulldoze coal out of the ground and burn it—dumping a huge load of carbon into the atmosphere; and that,

2) Biofuel is much better--at least carbon neutral. It's made from growing products, so that it sucks up atmospheric carbon as it grows, and releases it back when it is burned.

Biofuels breathe in, and breathe out. Presumably the climate effect is nil. And that's good, right?

Not so fast, says a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme's
Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics, Sustainable Consumption & Production Branch. http://www.unep.fr/scp/rpanel/Biofuels.htm

“They (biofuels) are characterized by some as a panacea representing a central technology in the fight against climate change. Others criticise them as a diversion from the tough climate mitigation actions needed or a threat to food security,” says the preface to the full 120-page report, Assessing Biofuels.

It is available here. http://www.unep.fr/scp/rpanel/pdf/Assessing_Biofuels_Full_Report.pdf

And a summary here. http://www.unep.fr/scp/rpanel/pdf/Assessing_Biofuels_Summary.pdf

This is not new research, but rather a very extensive literature review, aimed at trying to get a handle on biofuels. A key conclusion: this issue is complicated, so don't make casual broad-brush assumptions.

Some of the identified problems with crop-based fuels: They divert us from carbon-negative energy technologies; they divert crop production from needed food resources to fuel; many of them have their own environmental issues like soil runoff, energy intensive fertilizer use, extensive water use and so forth; and some may not be as carbon neutral as they seem.

For instance, if peat-lands and tropical forest are cleared for biofuel farming, the carbon released in that clearing may far-outweigh reduced net carbon emissions. This is a key objection to some oil palm production.

There are many, many reasons to be cautious about blanket support for biofuels, but the report also identifies another piece of the puzzle that discourages blanket opposition. We are now only working with the first generation of biofuel technology, and future biofuels may be much more environmentally acceptable than the worst of the current crop.

“Researchers are already studying advanced biofuels from sources such as algae or the natural enzymes used by termites to dissolve wood into sugars. These second or third generation technologies will require their own life cycle assessments,” the report says.

Meanwhile, for first-generation biofuels, Hawai'i can kick itself in the collective butt. The best of the best in terms of greenhouse gas savings is bioethanol from sugar cane, the crop we have nearly wiped off our landscape. (Sugar has its own issues, like high fertilizer demand.) By contrast, corn, soy and oil palm biofuels can range from greenhouse positive to dramatically negative, depending on how and where they're grown.

A key message of the UN report: Neither should you be kneejerk dazzled by biofuel, nor should you automatically reject the stuff.

It suggests a number of paths to improving things. Among them: identifying and reducing specific biofuel crop issues; using waste more efficiently; and noting that “stationary use of biomass—to generate heat and/or electricity—is typically more energy efficient than converting biomass to a liquid fuel. It may also provide much higher CO2 savings at lower costs.”

© Jan TenBruggencate

Bees and mites: more problems, new investigations

The state's honeybee hives are being damaged by the destructive varroa mite, and the impacts go far beyond reduced honey production.

(Image: Honeybee on a flower. Credit: NOAA Photo Library.)

Aside from the direct effect of the weakening of bees and whole colonies by the bee-blood sucking mites, there are significant indirect impacts.

One is to the bees. The varroa mite not only weakens the bees, but it can also carry bacterial and viral agents that further impact the sick insects.

And for larger society, one of the severe impacts of weak colonies with reduced numbers is that pollination of crops is significantly reduced.

The University of Hawai'i bee project is conducting research into the varroa mite.

“We are interested in developing practical treatment options for local beekeepers and establishing a sound research program that focuses on maintenance and improvement of the Hawaiian honeybees. Reducing the likelihood that the mite will invade other islands, and restricting the big island invasion is also a high priority, and we are investigating procedures for preventing feral bees from being inadvertently transported among islands on ship containers and other vessels,” says the website.

Mark Wright and Ethel Villalobos, of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources' Plant and Environmental Protection Services, are running the bee project. They are asking O'ahu residents to report any wild honeybee hives so they can investigate virus transmission by the mites.

If you come across a wild hive, you can reach the Honeybee Varroa Project at 956-2445 or email uhbeelab@gmail.com.

Have more questions about mites? See the Department of Agriculture's list of frequently asked questions. http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/pi/ppc/varroa-bee-mite-folder/frequently-asked-questions-about-varroa-mites

© Jan TenBruggencate 2009

Hot Hot Hot. Global temperatures still rising, El Nino extending

The period from June to September has been the warmest on record, confirming the continued warming of the global climate.

If you've been hearing people prognosticating about a global cooling trend, well...that wasn't, um, exactly true.

In fact, the first decade of the new century is on pace to be the warmest decade ever--at least for as long as records have been kept.

(Image: NASA graph showing land and ocean temperature changes. The ocean, a bigger heat sink, has less year-to-year variability, but the trend is the same. This graph goes through 2008. The 2009 number, based on mid-year information, will be a significant tick upward. See other NASA temperature data here.

And here in Hawai'i, we have something else to worry about.

The current El Nino event, which has been weak thus far, is now expected to strengthen and last at least through the winter, according to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center.

During El Nino events, which occur every three to five years, the waters of the tropical Pacific are significantly warmer than normal. El Nino is associated in the Islands with dry winters and more tropical storms.

Here is the link to the latest forecast.

As for the temperature, NOAA had previously announced that the summer months June to August were the warmest on record. NOAA hasn't yet announced the September data, but NASA's figures here show September 2009 was one of the warmest Septembers ever—so the NOAA announcement of a four-month record heat is inevitable.

(We thank for the tip on this the climate blog, Climate Progress.)

© Jan TenBruggencate 2009

Rooftop solar as the low-cost alternative: An O'ahu example

O'ahu resident and Realtor Tony Kawaguchi started with the low-hanging fruit when he looked for ways to cut down a $625/month power bill in September 2008.

(Images: Top: Solar photovoltaic panels on Kawaguchi's roof. Bottom: “This is the Sunny Boy converter, installed by Mercury Solar. The installation took about 4 hours, and sits next to Hawaiian Electric’s meter, which now spins a lot slower than it used to,” Kawaguchi said. Credit: Tony Kawaguchi.)

He said he changed incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, which use a quarter of the power for roughly the same amount of illumination. He dropped the temperature on his water heater. He retired one of his three computer monitors.

It didn't create the level of savings he was hoping for. Then he went upstairs.

Kawaguchi put a solar water heater on the roof, essentially removing his electrical cost of heating water.

And he then installed a photovoltaic system.

The electric bill was cut in half in the first month. Kawaguchi has since expanded his photovoltaic system to reap more savings. His bill was $153.47 in September 2009.

Kawaguchi said he was able to make the adjustments with very little cash outlay. He found a solar contractor with a program that financed the cost of the system at 2 percent interest. And he took advantage of a state 35 percent tax credit and federal 30 percent tax credit.

Additionally, Kawaguchi took advantage of a program under which he claimed the tax credits for paying to install solar water heaters on the roofs of low-income residents.

“I also bought another solar water system for a low income family on which I also receive the 65 percent tax credit, but the solar company finances nearly all of it at percent, and the low income family pays the loan off. So I receive the 65 percent tax credit on that $7k system, but don't have any cash out of pocket,” Kawaguchi said.

“So in reality - I paid NOTHING for all my solar power. I simply took money that I would have paid the government and instead purchased enough solar energy for other people to receive tax credits to pay for it all... I had my CPA look at it and he was already familiar with this type of deal through other solar companies,” he said.

Kawaguchi, who blogs on real estate at http://www.alohatony.com, said that from a real estate perspective, these changes make good economic sense.

“Imagine if you were a buyer comparing two similar homes in Hawaii, and one of them allowed you to have almost no power bill. That monthly savings would be a huge factor in the value you would see in that home,” he said.

© Jan TenBruggencate 2009