A recent article in Fortune Magazine Online sparked my interest in a new trend on The Big Island, sustainable farmed fish. Especially after going to the Kokua Festival this last week and soaking up the energy of the “green scene,” I thought it would be a good idea to do a little more research and pass this article onto our readers.

It turns out, whether we like to admit it or not, the waters in Hawaii and around the world are being over fished. Yup, that big blue ocean is being messed with, and it’s not just the global warming that’s giving it problems. Too many people trying to catch too many fish and not doing so in a sustainable way.

That’s where a company off the Kona coast of The Big Island comes in. Kona Blue Water Farms grows a special breed of yellowtail tuna dubbed Kona Kampachi. The nets are a half mile off shore in some 200 feet deep water. This is a big difference from farmed fish which usually reside in man made reservoirs causing the fish to be lower in nutrients, lack flavor, and be susceptible to diseases in such close corners.

Kona Kampachi on the other hand is claimed to be very flavorful and richer in omega-3 than any other fish in ocean. It’s not genetically engineered. It’s not treated with antibiotics of any sort, or any other growth hormones. It’s also claimed to be of sashimi-grade (which I wasn’t aware there was such a grade of fish.)

The fish are bred on the island in special breeding stations, the eggs are grown up to inch long fishes, and then those fish are taken to the nets until they’re about 4 to 6 pounds. One of only down sides to the growing of fish like this is that the feces could create potential problems for local aquatic life. However, I see this as a much more solvable problem than hormone injected fish, or depleting our oceans.

If you’re interested in the fish you can order right from their website for $17 per pound plus shipping and handling, or you can head to your local Whole Foods which carries the fish for $20 per pound. Kings Supermarkets, Kroger and Costco are all carrying the fish in selcet locations as well.

I think it’s an interesting idea and with the population growing and more and more people looking towards our oceans for food, we’ll need to have ideas like this help keep our oceans from being depleted.

You can read the Fortune article here.