Mission Markets is proud to have Roberts and Rose Mariculture Corp. as a qualified issuer member. We sat down to ask Tom Roberts and Robert Rose a few questions about the mariculture industry and markets and how sustainable farming of sea cucumbers can help restore fragile ecosystems. To learn more, please register at missionmarkets.com.
Q) What is Mariculture? What inspired you to enter this market and what are some of your past accomplishments?
A) Mariculture (mari =sea in Latin) is the science or art of sea farming of plants and animals. The word is used interchangeably with aquaculture, which includes both marine and sea farming or cultivation.
Inspiration was an evolution over time for both Thomas Roberts and Robert Rose, from sport/recreational diving youths to either a commercial marine archeologist/pearl farmer/business entrepreneur (T Roberts) or a qualified marine biologist/commercial aquaculturist (R Rose, PhD). Independently, Tom through observations and working underwater on pearl farms and Bob’s research/aquaculture on the reproductive ecology/life cycles of pearl oysters and sea cucumbers discovered both species share the same marine habitat and thrive together in open-sea, polyculture systems.
Fourteen years ago both gentlemen met in northern Palawan Province, Philippines to establish a pearl farm. While conducting a survey, they realized that Busuanga Island and surrounding archipelago were teeming with sea cucumber species of which most were commercially lucrative and easy to propagate using pearl oyster-abalone hatchery/nursery techniques. Most importantly, the grow-out techniques developed in Indonesia and Australia by Bob and by two colleagues on the management team (Jeff Abel and Beni Giraspy), were ideally suited for the area.
Both proponents were aware through colleagues from the seafood industry and scientific literature that an ever-increasing global demand for sea cucumber was due to a rapidly growing human population in combination with a plethora of collapsing regional fisheries. Readily available buyers in close proximity to major markets across the South China Sea, made the practicality of entering market with aquacultured produce cost-effective; hence, Roberts and Rose partnership commenced.
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