Whole fish and loins were displayed by Sea Products of Scotland, also part of Marine Farms and in charge of marketing the fish in Europe.
“We were very pleased with the interest,” says Bjørn Myrseth, managing director of Marine Farms ASA, the parent company of Marine Farms Vietnam which farms the fish. “Both buyers and distributors came to see and taste it.”
Interest, and sales, in Europe have continued to rise and this, coupled with a dramatic increase in sales in Asia, means that Marine Farms can now sell all the cobia it can produce. “We may be at a point where we have to prioritise existing customers and not take on new ones,” says Bjørn Myrseth.
Marine Farms has been farming cobia in Vietnam since 2005. Its farm is based in Van Phong Bay, a sparsely populated area 50km north of the coastal city of Nha Trang in the centre of the country. Much of the technology Marine Farms employs to farm the fish, such as the use of relatively large, floating cages with deep nets and formulated feeds, has been developed from that used in the salmon farming industry. Management practices are also similar to those for farming salmon.
Marine Farms Vietnam has 10 sea sites located 300m from Hon Lon Island in the bay, five of which are used to farm cobia while the remaining five remain fallow until the following year. Each site can contain 24 cages.
There is also a site for a cobia hatchery, but this won’t be built until it is strategically necessary, according to Carlos Massad, CEO Marine Farms Vietnam. At present, the company is sending eggs to existing hatcheries in Vietnam and bringing back fry weighing 2g each for growing on.
The fish are given a guaranteed non-GMO pelleted feed which is imported from Canada or Chile and are harvested year round when they weigh 5kg each, said to be ideal for processing for sale in Europe. Cobia is an extremely fast growing species and it takes just under 12 months to reach this size.
Production, which reached 500 tonnes in 2009, is predicted to hit 1000 tonnes this year. In five years’ time it will be up to 4000 tonnes says Carlos Massad who adds that the site has a projected maximum production of 5000 tonnes. More grow-out sites in Vietnam are being sought.
Taiwan, which has been producing cobia for more than a decade, has been the pioneer in farming the species and is still a leading producer with an annual production of around 3000 tonnes. However, FAO statistics show that China has dramatically overtaken its island neighbour and registered a production of nearly 26,000 tonnes in 2007.
Most of this fish is consumed locally, or in neighbouring countries. In fact, Marine Farms Vietnam is sending fresh whole cobia to Taiwan and is also developing the domestic market in Vietnam. Last year it held a cobia cooking contest in Ho Chi Minh City for major hotels and restaurants as part of its marketing efforts. The company is also sending fresh and frozen cobia fillets to Japan and expects to sell more than 300 tonnes there this year.
The species is farmed in other countries as well, including Malaysia, Singapore and the USA. But so far production in these countries has not been specifically registered as farmed cobia.
Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is characterised by an extremely fast growth rate – from 1g to 5-6kg in one year, and 8-10kg in two years – a firm, white flesh with a mild taste, and few bones.
Although the flesh is white, cobia is nevertheless a pelagic species with a high oil content and is therefore very suitable for serving as sushi and sashimi, so skinless, boneless loins are of most interest for these products. The fish can be smoked and this product format also created interest at ESE.
But cobia is extremely versatile and can be prepared by any cooking method used for fish from barbecuing to boiling to baking. The fact that it has a high oil content – higher than Atlantic salmon – means that it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and is therefore very beneficial to human health.
As well as being farmed, cobia is also caught in tropical waters, but by sports fishermen rather than commercially, as the fish tend to swim singly. In Australia cobia is known as black kingfish, while in Florida and the Gulf of Mexico it is commonly referred to as ling.
Marine Farms ASA used to have another subsidiary farming cobia in Belize and sending fresh fillets to the USA, but this has been closed down. Production is now being concentrated on frozen fillets and loins which are being produced in EU-approved premises close to the farming site in Vietnam. European sales are being handled by Sea Products of Scotland, while frozen fillets and loins for the USA and Canada are available from Nordic Seafood in Boston.
SeafoodSource.com recently reported that skinless, boneless cobia loins in 250- 300g packs from Marine Farms Vietnam will now be sold directly to UK consumers by seafood home delivery service Regal Fish Supplies Ltd.
“We believe that cobia has the potential to be really popular with UK consumers,” Mark Warrington of Sea Products of Scotland told SeafoodSource.com. “It has everything we know they want: it’s easy to prepare, it’s convenient, really versatile and it has a great flavour.”
Meanwhile King’s Seafood in Southern California has become the first restaurant chain to feature cobia farmed in Vietnam.
To further its marketing, Marine Farms has launched a website, www.cookingwithcobia.com, featuring recipes and a video showing preparation and cooking techniques. The campaign also highlights the company’s operations and sustainability efforts.
The fast growing tropical species seems to be finding its feet in the marketplace. Certainly Bjørn Myrseth is optimistic: “We believe that cobia will become an important species in aquaculture in the years to come.”
