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FISH FOR A BETTER
TOMORROW.

For over a decade, Open Blue has been revolutionizing fish farming by moving it into the open ocean, far away from sensitive ecosystems, and raising a native fish in its warm-water habitat. We are global leaders in deep sea mariculture known for our pioneering research and game-changing technologies, developed in collaboration with the world’s leading labs and universities. We’re driven to find a better way to feed the planet.

At Open Blue, sustainability is woven into every aspect of our operations. It is our prime business driver, built on our deep understanding that the well-being of the earth, the oceans, our staff and partners, and our customers and communities are entirely interrelated. We track our progress using a three-pillared approach that reflects our ongoing commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

OPEN BLUE IS GUIDED BY THREE STRATEGIC GOALS:

Open Blue exceeds the highest standards in the mariculture industry, and complies with all regulations and third-party certifications. Every day we look for more ocean-friendly, fish-friendly and human-friendly ways to do business. Our commitment to structured, continuous improvement keeps us at the forefront of our industry.

Parasite Monitoring & Control

 
Parasite monitoring and control

Ocean Ecosystems and Parasitism

Tropical deep water open oceans are dynamic and full of life, especially plankton. Plankton are small organisms that float or drift in great numbers in bodies of salt and fresh water. Plankton are a primary food source for many animals, and consist of protozoans, algae, cnidarians, tiny crustaceans such as copepods, and many other organisms. Many of these planktonic organisms are marine ectoparasites.

Marine ectoparasites occur naturally on many different species of fish. When ectoparasites encounter marine fish they attach themselves to the skin, fins and/or gills of the fish and feed off the mucous, tissues, or interstitial fluid of the fish.

Deep water, open ocean aquaculture systems are less vulnerable to this type of parasite (and parasites in general) because the open nature of offshore pens interrupts the multi-stage life cycle of these organisms and prevents their accumulation within the system.

Cobia are a relatively hardy species. Like all fish, however, cobia must deal with ectoparasites, and those ectoparasites must be pro-actively managed in order to ensure that the fish are reared in a healthy and humane fashion. In the offshore sites, tracking these ectoparasites is a regular part of our fish care. Parasitic organisms such as Neobenedenia can be found in the sea pens. Neobenedenia, known more colloquially as a “skin fluke”, is an ectoparasite that attaches itself to the skin and eyes of our cobia. Neobenedenia feeds on the skin cells and mucus of the fish. Our veterinarians monitor for Neobenedenia and other ectoparasites on a regular basis.

Our monitoring protocol requires that 5 fish per pen are selected from a percentage of our pens for analysis every week. We count the ectoparasites on the selected fish then we bathe the fish in Hydrogen Peroxide, a safe non-antibiotic method of controlling ectoparasites. Hydrogen Peroxide is an effective treatment for parasites. It breaks down quickly into water and oxygen and does not accumulate in sediment. There is no withdrawal period for the fish following the treatment. Because Hydrogen Peroxide breaks down so quickly and completely it is considered a zero impact method of treating marine fish. Hydrogen Peroxide is listed by the third party certification group, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, as the only parasiticide treatment with a 0 rating for persistence and toxicity in the environment, meaning Hydrogen Peroxide leaves zero toxic residues in the ocean after usage.

As part of our ongoing commitment to nourish current and future generations in harmony with the ocean, and because some of our stakeholders have an interest in understanding this part of our business, we are providing our ectoparasite data for public review. This data will be updated on a regular basis. Please feel free to contact us at info@openblue.com if you have any questions about this data.

Average number of parasites per fish by week:

2025 Week 2025 Average 2025 Week 2025 Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
0
0.79
0.73
0.78
-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2024 Week 2024 Average 2024 Week 2024 Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
2.1
1.1
2.2
-
1.6
0.9
1.6
1.6
1.1
2.3
3.2
1.1
1.7
1.9
1.9
2.6
1
1.1
2.3
2.1
2.7
0.6
1.1
0.6
1.6
0.5
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
2.3
0.4
2.3
4.22
2.3
4.6
0.7
0
2.1
3.9
1.2
1.6
1.5
1.8
1.2
2.5
0.6
2.2
1.8
1.1
3.6
2.1
3.8
1.6
3.8
-
2023 Week 2023 Average 2023 Week 2023 Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
4.9
0.7
2
3.1
2.7
3.3
1.1
1.9
2
0.9
0.5
0.7
0.6
1.6
2.6
-
0.7
2
1
0.7
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
0.2
0
0
0.3
0.6
0
0.3
0.6
0.6
0.9
1.3
1.8
1
1.2
1.7
3.1
1.8
0.5
1.2
0.4
1.7
2.5
0
3.7
2.6
2.2
2022 Week 2022 Average 2022 Week 2022 Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
4.7
6.6
2.4
5.2
3.7
2.3
2.2
1.9
1.5
1.5
1.3
0.5
0.2
0.6
0.7
0.2
1
0.34
0.36
0.42
0.12
0.44
0.8
0.41
0.33
2.39
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
N/A - Weather
1.13
1
0.55
0.2
0.46
0.79
0.77
1.17
1.46
7.68
4.33
2.55
3.8
2.58
4.58
4.41
4.44
4.82
1
5.2
5.57
2.28
1.18
0.53
1.33
2021 Week 2021 Average 2021 Week 2021 Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
N/A - Weather
N/A - Weather
4.8
1.3
1.4
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
2
1.5
0.7
0.8
N/A - Weather
N/A - Weather
1.5
2.6
1.7
2.9
0.8
2.3
0.4
0.6
0.4
1.8
1.3
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
3.1
8.3
2.5
4.9
1.3
4.8
2.1
6
6.4
8.5
N/A - Weather
8.7
7.2
10.7
4.5
7.4
3.9
4.9
6.7
5.9
3.7
5.7
3.2
N/A - Weather
1.9
3.4
2020 Week 2020 Average 2020 Week 2020 Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
1
3
2
N/A - Weather
2
2
3
1
3
3
3
2
2
3
1
2
Pandemic
Pandemic
Pandemic
Pandemic
1
2
6
4
4
Pandemic
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
N/A - Weather
N/A - Weather
2
N/A - Weather
1
2
2
7
3
5
7
3
12
3
5
3
3
1
N/A - Weather
2
3
N/A - Weather
N/A - Weather
1
N/A - Weather
N/A - Weather

Predator Monitoring

 
Predator monitoring

Life at Sea

Mariculture out in the open ocean comes with some interesting neighbors. Occasionally we see various species of snapper, remora, jacks, small tuna and other pelagic fish congregating around the sea enclosures. The most common sharks we see are whale sharks which are planktivores, meaning they eat tiny plankton in the water. We also see more aggressive sharks like tiger sharks, bull sharks and hammerhead sharks. These species can be dangerous to our divers and to our fish. Because mortalities in our enclosures could be an attractant for these types of sharks, we have maintained strict protocols for removing dead and moribund fish, thus eliminating the motivation for sharks to try and enter the enclosures. Additionally, the containment mesh of our SeaStation pens is made of rigid netting with a tensile strength of 45kN/m that cannot be severed by sharks. This netting was installed in January 2016 in all of our pens, and as a result, shark attacks and the resulting holes are now resolved. We are continually working to increase our understanding of shark populations on the Caribbean coast. As a part of this work we have partnered with MarAlliance, a local environmental group and the University of Panama. Some of our divers have been trained in shark identification and we are building a database to track numbers and different types of sharks in the area. Sharks are a part of life at sea, but we are proving every day that with the right approach, we can all coexist in harmony.

 

Wild Fish Research

 

Wild fish research

Wild fish research project

Open Blue produces cobia (Rachycentron canadum) at an offshore farm on the Atlantic coast of Panama. Cobia are a large pelagic fish of circumtropical distribution and are native to the Caribbean and Panama.Open Blue is committed to maintaining the health of the environment in which we operate. This commitment includes our ongoing work to monitor the health of wild fish populations in the farm area. We are engaged in a multi-phase research project designed to create the knowledge base needed to understand and manage any potential effects of farm activities on wild fish populations. As part of this effort, Open Blue has done an extensive literature review to identify fish who are either resident or transitory in the Southern Caribbean region, as well as a separate literature review intended to identify the common diseases and parasites of these wild fish. These literature reviews are continuously updated and inform our current monitoring work, which is focused on sampling wild fish found under/around the Open Blue pens, as well as fish at more distant points on Atlantic Coast of Panama. Wild fish are collected and then subjected to the same pathology exam as fish that come from our pens. The results of these pathology exams (especially the results of screens for several notable fish pathogens) are compared with the results of our farmed fish analyses, giving us valuable insights into both our farm stock and the animals living around our pens. Our wild fish sampling work has been ongoing since July of 2017. Since that time we have sampled more than 50 fish captured underneath or in the vicinity of our pens. Additionally, we conduct regular video surveys of the populations of wild fish under our cages, and we have been conducting these surveys since August 2017. We continue to monitor these populations and maintain an extensive database on our results.
 

Fish containment

 
Fish containment

Net integrity and fish containment

At Open Blue, we work hard to prevent any fish released from our farms. This is an important effort, not only because the safe protection of the farm stock is integral to the viability of our business, but also because of any potential environmental concerns.

Today’s Open Blue SeaStation technology is constructed to such a high standard that it is rare for equipment failures to occur. The containment netting of the SeaStation is made of semi-rigid filament mesh netting with a tensile strength of 35kN/m2 that cannot be severed by sharks or collapsed by marine mammals.

Our divers inspect the integrity of the netting daily and keep a record of any net issues. If an incident occurs, we make an inventory adjustment following the finding of any holes and diver observations.

Once the harvest is completed, we reconcile the harvested fish with potential escapes.

 

This report describes the escape of fish from the Open Blue open-ocean aquaculture site located approximately 8 miles offshore of the town of Miramar, Panama, in the Caribbean Sea.

All of the lost fish described in this report are cobia (Rachycentron canadum). Cobia are native to the Caribbean coast of Panama. These fish were not genetically modified in any way and had no unusual health problems or diseases. All of the fish lost in these escapes were sexually immature juveniles. None of the fish discussed in this report were recovered.

In the period from September 2020 to August 2021, we saw a cumulative variation of 2,63% between the number of fish stocked, minus the number of fish harvested, and minus the amount of mortality. This has been reported to the government of Panama.

 

In the period from September 2023 to August 2024, we saw a cumulative variation of 3% between the number of fish stocked, minus the number of fish harvested, and minus the amount of mortality

Mortality report of birds, sharks and marine mammals

2025 Month 2025 Total
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-
2024 Month 2024 Total
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-
2023 Month 2023 Total
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0