VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE # 264
AIR DATE: 02 03 2023
TRANSCRIPT
OPEN ((VO/NAT/SOT))
((Banner))
Farming Kelp
((SOT))
((Matt Moretti
Co-Owner/CEO, Bang Island Mussels))
I started out farming mussels in 2010 and very soon after that, we decided to add kelp to the mix. The main reason was that it was a chance to do even more positive environmental good.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Growing Oysters
((SOT))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Once COVID came along, we had basically zero sales. Hopefully you guys like big oysters, because they're still there. They're still growing.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Wreck Diving
((SOT))
((Dean Anderson
Captain, “Outrageous V”))
It’s about 328 feet [100 meters] long. It was sunk in 1992. It served in Vietnam. It was a boat tender and a base. We have it sunk as an artificial reef.
Kelp Farming in Maine))
((Director/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: Portland, Maine))
((Main characters: 1 male; 2 female))
((BLURB: Fishermen diversify their income by farming kelp in their off season.))
((NATS))
((Briana Warner
President/CEO, Atlantic Sea Farms))
We're looking at a pretty significant economic development issue here on the coast of Maine as the Gulf of Maine warms faster than 98% of oceans in the world. We're working with fishermen to diversify their income by farming kelp in their off-season.
((NATS))
((Matt Moretti
Co-Owner/CEO, Bang Island Mussels))
The working waterfront in Maine is traditionally very independent. Most of the people that I can think of are all, you know, owner operators or own independent boats, and I'm mostly thinking about lobstermen here. The ASF [Atlantic Sea Farms] model allows people to maintain their independent owner operator status, but also get the support that they need to venture into a new field that's totally different from wild capture.
((NATS))
((Matt Moretti
Co-Owner/CEO, Bang Island Mussels))
I started out farming mussels in 2010 and very soon after that, we decided to add kelp to the mix. The main reason was that it was a chance to do even more positive environmental good. Kelp is grown in the winter. It's a very fast-growing organism. So, we plant all of our kelp, 40,000 feet of it in the middle fall, you know, sometime October, November. We grow it over the winter exclusively. We maintain it during that period and then we harvest it all in the early spring.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Briana Warner
President/CEO, Atlantic Sea Farms))
We help fishermen get their leases. We help our partner farmers seek their spots, set up their farms. We provide technical assistance on how to grow kelp. We have an overarching kelp transfer kind of program, and then we also grow all of the seeds for the kelps, and we give those seeds to our partner farmers for free. So, if there is some sort of problem on their farm, if they do see some sort of, you know, disruption from storms or the lines break, they're not out money. They're only out the time they spent seeding out that farm. After this, the growing season is over. We work with them to harvest, to give them harvest bags. We do all the transport. We do all the logistics and they basically land it on the dock. We weigh it on the dock and it goes away and it comes back to this facility, which is 27,000 square feet [2508 sq. meters], where we turn it into a value-added product.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Matt Moretti
Co-Owner/CEO, Bang Island Mussels))
Kelp is good for the environment because it helps remove some of the excess nutrients that are in coastal ecosystems. Often those nutrients are caused by human reasons, human sources. So, kelp actually absorbs those nutrients from the water, which can help balance ecosystem, make a healthier coastal ecosystem.
((NATS))
((Jesse Baines
Chief Marketing Officer, Atlantic Sea Farms))
My father's a fisherman, primarily lobster. I have uncles, cousins. My brother grew up fishing, and still today lobster is king in Maine. But we have a very vibrant, sustainable, beautiful fishery filled with really hardworking, dedicated people.
((NATS))
((Jesse Baines
Chief Marketing Officer, Atlantic Sea Farms))
Growing up, sustainability was always kind of at the forefront of our conversations around lobstering. And that's why we knew we wanted to work with leaders in the industry because chances are, if you're a really good lobster fisherman, you're going to be a really good kelp farmer.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Jesse Baines
Chief Marketing Officer, Atlantic Sea Farms))
We had a few people who came to the forefront as leaders. And one of those people was Keith Miller, who’s like, "I'll give it a try, guys." But sure enough, that first season, what Keith saw was a beautiful crop and he saw us come to the dock and pick it up and hand him a check. Keith held up that check to the community of people who were around him, wondering what the hell he was doing out there and said, "Look boys, this here’s the future." He and our other partner farmers, especially the ones who came on early, they're innovating every year. They're problem-solving with us. They're figuring out new ways to lay out moorings and lines and seeding lines and all of these different things that are really key to developing this industry.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Briana Warner
President/CEO, Atlantic Sea Farms))
I think what I get most excited about with my job is I get to really challenge conventional wisdom about what a food system can be and what food can do for people and the environment. So, to be able to look at the coast and see the exact same issues that we're confronting everywhere else, just maybe 20 years early, so that we can actually do something about it, is pretty exciting. And so, we can also be, not only like a warning sign for the rest of the world, but also a beacon of hope for how we can go about climate change adaptation in a way that is thoughtful and preemptive.
((MUSIC/NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT/SOT))
Coming up…
((Banner))
Oster Farming
((SOT))
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
All oysters will taste a little bit different depending on growing conditions and what they're growing on, if they're growing in cages or bags or on the bottom.
BREAK ONE
((https://www.voanews.com/a/5637747.html))
((UV Disinfecting Robots))
((Andy Molnar
UVD Robots))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((PKG)) OYSTER FARMING
((Topic Banner: The World is Their Oyster))
((Director/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Director of Photography: Scott Stevens))
((Writer/Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: Barnstable, Massachusetts))
((Main characters: 2 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((NATS))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
When we were kids, our dad would take us to work with him and it was hard work. I basically spent my whole life saying I'd do anything but this, working, you know, on the oyster farm. I worked in HR for a while. I was a corporate trainer. And I just didn't really find it very fulfilling. So, sometimes what you're looking for is under your nose the whole time.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Hi. I'm Aaron Hemmila and I work at Barnstable Sea Farms.
((Jared Hemmila, General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
I'm Jared Hemmila. I'm the general manager of Barnstable Sea Farms and I coordinate basically what we're going to be doing for the day, whether it's harvesting or doing maintenance work. And I do a lot of the deliveries myself.
So, after college, I was working at a bank for a couple of years,
((Courtesy: Jared Hemmila))
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
then I went to Indonesia, and I was teaching English for several years. I met my wife there. And my dad was thinking about selling the business and
((end Courtesy))
I thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. So, I came over and basically took over and I've been doing it for, I think, seven or so years now. And it's great. I love it.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
What I love about farming oysters is that every day is different, you know. We work both sides of the Cape. We're on the north side and the south side. You know, sometimes we're diving up oysters or raking up oysters or using our drag to dredge up oysters. But every day is different, and we get to work outside and we have flexible schedules and we get to work with our family. So, altogether, it's a home run.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
So, working with your brother, it can be trying sometimes but we have a great relationship and he's always making me think a little harder and being more careful. And he takes care of a lot of the paperwork and I do a lot of more of the physical stuff. So, I think we work great as a team.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
So, we partner with the Audubon Society and we do about a dozen tours a year in the summer on our smaller site and we don't really make a whole lot of money doing them but it's more of an outreach program and a lot of people are really interested.
((NATS))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
And you can see what I was talking about with the sand buildup. You get the sand that's building up and that's what's creating this black mud in here.
((NATS))
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Yeah, super sharp. So, be careful.
((Speaker 3))
Okay.
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
So, yeah, these are about a year and a half, beautiful looking oyster right there.
((Speaker 3))
Yes, they are.
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Yeah. All oysters will taste a little bit different depending on, you know, growing conditions and what they're growing on, if they're growing in cages or bags or on the bottom. And it would also affect their shell, shells on these oysters, because it's so dynamic here. They're always getting tumbled and moved around by the water current. So, the oyster shell is a bit thicker here. And so, it makes for a nice pretty oyster, but it's also makes for a good oyster. Would you like to try one?
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Once COVID came along, we lost all our sales for at least a month, maybe about two months, we had basically zero sales. Sales are starting to come back but, you know, this was supposed to be our banner year. And we got a lot of oysters and, you know, hopefully you guys like big oysters, because they're still there. They're still growing.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
But I like going out on the boat.
((Courtesy: Jared Hemmila))
I like, you know, just being outside. Sometimes in February, when we're dragging and we have to cut through ice, that's fun.
((end Courtesy))
You know, there was this one year where it was like about a foot [30 cm] thick and Scott is just hammering away at this chunk of ice just to try and free the boat. And it was fun, you know, just being able to, you know, go out there and try different things just to try and stay afloat.
((NATS))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Jared's pulling up one of these bags of seed. We keep it on these lines to keep them out of the mud. So, we'll crack this open and take a look at it.
((NATS))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Yeah, so that one's grown quite a bit.
Do you want me topping these off?
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Sure. Probably good.
((Aaron Hemmila, Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Okay.
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
I think that's fine.
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
What have we got? Seven, 14, 19. Some of them are like half full, but…
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
That'll give us the…
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
I think we'll be all right. See that's probably about, what would you say? Like 20 bags? So, about 2,000 oysters, maybe. 2,000 saleable oysters.
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Yeah. There's probably about 250, 300 oysters per box. What have we got here? 20 boxes. So, 250 times 20. That’s, you know, 500, 5,000.
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Okay.
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
About 5,000 oysters. Not all are saleable so, we'll go through them.
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Yeah.
((NATS))
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Yeah. So, what I'm doing, I'm knocking all the barnacles off, sorting through and finding all the good oysters. A lot of these are just either too small or too ugly to sell. My favorite way to eat an oyster raw, I like with a little mignonette on it, vinegar, shallots, black pepper. Barnstable oysters, I know are real briny and depending on the time of year, they can be real sweet and they have a good, good crunch to them.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Scott Stevens
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
There is a saying that you should only eat oysters in months that end in “er” [cooler months]. You might enjoy an oyster more in a month that ends in “er”, but I think they're actually, you know, they're perfectly good to eat every month, every week, every day.
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
What's for lunch? Oysters.
((NATS/MUSIC))
TEASE ((VO/NAT/SOT))
Coming up…
((Banner))
North Carolina Shipwrecks
((SOT))
((Hal Wells
Diver))
When you see a sand tiger shark swimming around the wreck, it’s because it’s mating with other sharks or it’s looking for food near that wrecks. They have somewhere to hide. These sharks are just as vulnerable as a lot of the other fish in the food chain.
BREAK TWO
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((Bird Migration Tech))
((Rodd Kelsey
The Nature Conservancy))
((Jon Munger
Montana Farms))
((Courtesy: Google Earth))
((Courtesy: Cornell Lab of Orinthology))
((Courtesy: Point Blue Conservation Science/The Nature Conservancy))
((Jon Munger
Montana Farms))
((Courtesy: California Rice Commission))
((Courtesy: Migration Bird Conservancy Partnership))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((PKG)) NORTH CAROLINA SHIPWRECKS
((TRT:
((Topic Banner: North Carolina Shipwrecks))
((Reporter/Producer/Camera/Editor: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Beaufort, North Carolina))
((Main characters: 3 male; 1 female))
((BLURB: Shipwrecks sunk by Nazi U-Boats are transformed into artificial reefs off the US Coast, which are now a home for sharks and an invigorating place for divers to visit.))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Dean Anderson
Captain, Outrageous V))
Good morning, everyone. I am Dean, your captain. Our crew members are Damon back here and Daniel right here.
We have a lot of World War II wrecks. We have a German U-boat off our coast that we dive regularly. We have a one World War I wreck, and we have a lot of World War II wrecks out here.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Joseph Schwarzer
Director, North Carolina Maritime Museums))
When the United States entered the war in December of 1941, admiral Karl Dönitz, who was in charge of the U-Boats for Nazi Germany, in the first months of 1942. And he sent 14 U-Boats immediately to the coast, the East Coast of the United States. And they had remarkable luck in sinking allied ships, more than 78 ships in the first six months of 1942.
((NATS))
((Dean Anderson
Captain, Outrageous V))
You ready, Doug? All righty. Enjoy your dive. Watch your air. Watch your bottom time.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Debby Boyce
Chair, East Carolina Artificial Reef Association))
Even though there’s a lot of cultural history with the wrecks that are out there, the fact that they have such a huge environmental impact, they’re just little ecosystems on the bottom of the basically sand bottom ocean. And so, it’s made a huge difference in the amount of marine life that had been out there.
((Hal Wells
Diver))
When you go out there and you just see what the sea life, you know, it’s taken over these wrecks. The shipwrecks provide a safe home and it’s, even though they’re artificial reefs, they are reefs.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Hal Wells
Diver))
When you see a sand tiger shark swimming around the wreck, it’s because it’s mating with other sharks or it’s looking for food near that wrecks. They have somewhere to hide. These sharks are just as vulnerable as a lot of the other fish in the food chain. If they’re swimming out in the open ocean all the time, that means a bigger predator can come in and, you know, these sharks grow to be about 10 [3 meters] or 11 feet [3.4 meters] max. Imagine some of the great whites. There are great whites patrolling out here as well. And they are probably praying on these sand tiger sharks we see on the wrecks.
((Dean Anderson
Captain, Outrageous V))
There is a lot of people that don’t get to see what we get to see. It’s just interesting. Very interesting. I’ve seen a lot of the wrecks, you know, over the years that I’ve been diving, just deteriorate really bad.
((NATS))
((Dean Anderson
Captain, Outrageous V))
All right, everyone. We are on the stern of the “Indra” for right now. It’s about 328 feet [100 meters] long. It was sunk in 1992. It served in Vietnam. It was a boat tender and a base. Okay, we have it sunk as an artificial reef.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Debby Boyce
Chair, Eastern Carolina Artificial Reef Association))
There’s really not anything we can do to stop deterioration of the wrecks that are already there. We are always in the process of trying to create new habitat out there. We’ve got a non-profit that we’ve set up, which is the Eastern Carolina Artificial Reef Association. Through that organization, we try to work with the local marine fisheries and sink reefs that are offshore.
((Debby Boyce
Chair, Eastern Carolina Artificial Reef Association))
Of the wrecks that are out there, we’ve already had our hand in probably 15 to 20 of the artificial reefs. And we are trying to keep replenishing that whole thing. They won’t have this historical significance that some of the World War II wrecks have, but as far as the overall quality of the environment, they will have an impact. That gives just more area [for] corals and stuff like that to grow on, which then starts the whole food chain of things going on.
((Debby Boyce
Chair, Eastern Carolina Artificial Reef Association))
The whole fishing industry depends on the fact that there’s fish out there in places that you can go, that the fish will be concentrated, and the commercial fishing industry, same things.
And, of course, that affects tourism, having people be able to come in to go do all these different things. So, it’s significant.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Hal Wells
Diver))
Sharks don’t really harm divers. The safety aspect for divers would be - keep your eyes open. If a larger shark comes in, say maybe like a tiger shark or great white, you definitely want to make eye contact with these sharks. They’ll stay at their distance. Again, you have bubbles coming out of your face. They know you are not food but they might be curious. So, is it safe to dive with sharks out here? I say, absolutely. And I live in Los Angeles. So, is it safe to go underwater and be with sharks? Well, there’s no switchblades down there.
There’s no pistols or there’s no rifles. I think it’s safer to dive with sharks than to live in a giant city with, you know, certain types of people walking around who want to take advantage. I think diving with sharks is just as safe as any other kind of diving, really.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Debby Boyce
Chair, Eastern Carolina Artificial Reef Association))
The biggest thing is raising money, to be able to get the money to be able to sink it. It can cost $500,000 to a million dollars to sink a wreck. And most of that is the cleaning of the wrecks. But even if you can get wrecks donated, it can cost four – five hundred thousand dollars to get it cleaned, to be acceptable to be sunk as artificial reefs. That’s a major setback as far as reefs go.
((Debby Boyce
Chair, Eastern Carolina Artificial Reef Association))
We’ve always find that ironic that if somebody’s boat just accidentally sinks, nothing happens and nothing’s cleaned. But we try to put one out there for the good of everybody, and you have to spend like a gazillion dollars.
One reef sunk will last, you know, 50-100 years. Costs money the first time to put it down, but then there’s no expense left. And so, to be able to consistently put those down is important.
((NATS/MUSIC))
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
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NEXT WEEK ((VO/NAT/SOT))
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In coming weeks…
((Banner))
African Drummer
((SOT))
((Tonetta Mawuko
Kofi’s wife))
The first time we went to Accra, Ghana, and he showed me around where he grew up, and he comes from humble beginnings. It was more like a slum, you know.
((Kofi Mawuko
Ghanaian Drummer and Musician))
You know, we were very lucky to have that opportunity. And, you know, when I was in Ghana, I don’t know much about the United States, but I've heard a lot. Not only in Africa but anybody, anywhere that has not been here before, is like everybody who lives in America is rich. That's the mindset. So, yeah, I'll go to America, and I'll be rich, you know? But I can say I'm rich to still do what I love doing and, you know, get paid for it.
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In coming weeks…
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iNaturalist
((SOT))
((Abhas Misraraj, Product Designer, iNaturalist))
iNaturalist is this amazing community of naturalists. And essentially, people can take a photo of anything living: plants, animal, fungus, slime mold. Put it on the website and other people identify it. And essentially, once people sort of have identified it a couple times and it becomes research grade, then we have this piece of data becomes this biodiversity database as sort of an output of this amazing community.
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SHOW ENDS
