New Plant To Convert Fish Processing Waste Into Fish Flour, and Oil for Reaching a Near Zero-emission Product Cycle 

PANAMA CITY — August 1, 2022 — Open Blue, a Panama-based and world-leading open ocean Cobia fish aquafarm and food company, announced the opening of its new $1.5 million (USD) fish byproduct processing plant in the Port of Vacamonte. The new plant will convert fish trimmings and waste recovered from Open Blue’s whole packaging process into fish meal and fish oil.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, this new plant furthers our vision of lowering our carbon footprint through zero waste,” said Javier Visuetti, regulatory and community affairs manager, Open Blue. “In addition, recovering the waste produced by our processing plants increases our yield and extends the opportunity to create new products with materials that would have otherwise gone to waste.”

Besides its environmental contribution, the facility will have a significant economic and industry impact on the community around the Port of Vacamonte, Panama Oeste. This project is expected to create high-quality jobs and will set a new pinnacle for sustainability best practices in aquaculture and agriculture in Panama.

The Tricanter machine is used for processing oily sludge into starch and Cobia fish oil.

Open Blue Sea Farms S.A., the parent company of Open Blue, has received full support for the new byproduct plant from Augusto Valderrama, Panama’s minister of agricultural development. The facility is expected to produce meal and oil to be used as ingredients by a local animal feed plant in their livestock food products.

Open Blue has also begun a parallel initiative shipping Cobia skin (leather) which is high in collagen to Eastern Europe where it is being used to make gelatin, the base material for high quality cosmetic products. Last month the company shipped its second container with 21,750 Kg of leather to Eslovaquia.

About Open Blue Cobia

Open Blue is an open ocean Cobia fish farm and food company that operates in harmony with natural surroundings far away from crowded coastal waters and sensitive ecosystems. The company’s farms are carefully chosen to avoid displacing other marine life following the most rigorous and sustainable mariculture practices in the planet. The result is a delicious, healthy whitefish with a buttery mild taste that holds both flavor and texture no matter how it’s prepared — from fried or sauteed to baked or grilled. The company provides Cobia whitefish to food service companies through its distributor relationships and to consumers through its website https://openblue.com/.