The Kona, Hawai’i‐based offshore R&D company, Kampachi Farms, LLC, was rebranded as Ocean Era, LLC. The rebranding initiative better positions the company to address broader opportunities and more expansive challenges facing aquaculture. The company membership and management structure will remain unchanged with a total of 11 employees.

Company co-founder and CEO, Neil Anthony Sims, said that the change was driven by a growing awareness of the global imperative for expansion of offshore aquaculture and the deeper understanding that the need is not just about one species of fish.

Ocean Era continues to work on a number of R&D projects with kampachi (Seriola rivoliana) at its Kona land-based facility. These projects include a selective breeding program for a fast growing, healthier fish, along with trials to accelerate broodstock maturation to amplify the results of the breeding program. The company also continues to develop alternative feedstuffs for kampachi and other marine fish.

Sims said that the company is already engaged in several other programs that are pursuing innovations for culture further offshore and lower down the food chain. These include trials with high value herbivorous reef-fish such as the rudderfish and chubs (Kyphosus vaigiensis), the “Blue Fields” project to develop offshore macroalgae culture systems, and the Velella Epsilon project.