A Farmer, a Chef, and a Scientist Work Together to Reimagine Sustainable Seafood
“Spending all that time fishing taught me a couple of things. One, wear sunscreen. And two, we’re starting to run out of fish.”
Farmed fish. Does your nose wrinkle when you read those two words? You may know this niche of the food industry by its lovelier name: aquaculture. In places where “farm-to-fork” fare has grown highly popular—the term signaling peak flavor, freshness, local economic vitality, and planetary health—fish farming rarely shows up as the poster child. It often conjures mental images of cramped, murky industrial pens; toxic chemical runoff; and bland, muddy-tasting fish. These unappealing misgivings pile up, ultimately congealing into a rigid public perception. Compared to wild-caught fish, aquaculture is often assumed to produce an inferior, resource-heavy product.
Megan Sorby Flips the Script
Megan Sorby, founder of Pine Island Redfish, isn’t afraid to confront these deep-seated environmental and quality concerns. Founded in 2023, her land-based operation sits on nearly 150 acres on the largest island off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Through its water-efficient recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), the farm recycles 100% of its saltwater loop.
“There are historical records of ancient Egyptians keeping tilapia ponds, but getting to the point where we have dedicated aquaculture practices on a farm production scale is relatively new,” Sorby says. “That means we’re experiencing this development of protein production in a way that there are eyes on us all the time, so we have to be really efficient and responsible in what we’re doing.” pineislandredfish.com
Chef Steve Phelps Bridges Farm to Plate
Steve Phelps is one pair of those watchful eyes, and he loves what he’s seeing from Pine Island Redfish. The chef-owner of Indigenous in Sarasota, Phelps is a longtime champion of sustainable seafood. When he moved from Cleveland to Sarasota 25 years ago, as the new chef on the block he was eager to learn all about fish. If Phelps couldn’t be found in the kitchen, he was probably out on a boat, soaking up knowledge while reeling in catches with local anglers.
“Spending all that time fishing taught me a couple of things,” Phelps says. “One, wear sunscreen. And two, we’re starting to run out of fish.”
Already a proponent of farm-raised sturgeon and caviar, Phelp’s interest in aquaculture deepened further. “I was finding out from commercial fishermen that the future’s not looking so bright for offshore fishing all the time—so I got into finding out more about how aquaculture, whether it’s land-based or offshore, would be beneficial for me as a chef and as a fisherman.”
Highly sought-after for its firm, white flesh with a clean, slightly sweet flavor, Florida’s native redfish grew scarce long before Phelps ever cast out a line. Commercial harvesting was banned in 1988, meaning local foodies rarely get to experience this delicacy unless they’re lucky enough to catch one themselves. Phelps praises Pine Island Redfish for raising an indigenous species that is a true culinary prize, introducing a legal, sustainable commercial supply stream that bypasses wild populations.
“I don’t see the need for farming something that we can catch in the wild abundantly. And it’s, like, every other month another salmon company will open,” Phelps says. “But Pine Island Redfish has chosen an iconic species that we can’t get, which is not always the case in aquaculture.”
Not every aquatic species adapts well to domestication, and not all fish farms are equipped to raise happy, healthy animals. Phelps has sampled plenty of farmed seafood vendors who fail his discerning taste test. The redfish swimming on land up on Pine Island, however, are certainly thriving. The proof’s on the plate.
“Redfish, in particular, you know where we find them most frequently in the wild? Back in the mangroves and bottom waters. They like it to be dark and a little mysterious,” Sorby says. “My fish don’t necessarily like to be solitary. They like to school; they like to hang out together. If they’re not happy, they don’t eat, and they don’t grow. It’s funny: They don’t speak the same language we do, but they’re really good at speaking to you through their behavior.” indigenoussarasota.com
Nicole Rhody, PhD, Anchors the Science
If Sorby sounds like a marine biologist when she talks about the unique personalities of redfish, that’s because she is. And she got her start right here, 20 years ago, serving as an intern at what was then a new research arm of the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, the Mote Aquaculture Research Park (MAP). While many locals and tourists alike see Mote as a phenomenal place for folks of all ages to spend an afternoon marveling at marine life, at its core the institution is a powerhouse of scientific innovation.
Nicole Rhody, PhD, was one of the mentor scientists for Sorby’s internship, and she has worked in Mote’s aquaculture research programs since the MAP’s 2001 inception.
“William R. Mote got together with some friends to purchase a 200-acre piece of property out on Fruitville Road. Supporting sustainable fisheries and seafood, that’s what it was all for,” Rhody says. “Mr. Mote liked to go to local restaurants and eat local fish—he would have loved Chef Steve and Indigenous, for sure—and his goals were the same as what we’ve been working on for a long time.”
Rhody jokes that she and her team at the MAP “do all the stuff from egg to plate” to help keep wild fisheries healthy for anglers while building viable business paths for fish farmers. On the wild side, they raise and replenish species such as snook, recently releasing 30,000 seaworthy swimmers with help from local anglers, volunteers, and kids. On the farming side, Mote provides pilot-scale infrastructure and has performed decades of R&D on aquaculture tech and farming practices that help a startup such as Pine Island Redfish hit the ground running. They vet equipment and products; educate today’s and tomorrow’s fish farmers; and bring in chef partners like Phelps to refine flavor and build consumer trust in farmed seafood. The program’s “blue economy” underpinning meshes economic viability with environmental restoration and sustainability so that local seafood production and healthy oceans reinforce each other.
“People have to understand that if we’re importing the majority of our seafood, that’s a food security challenge,” Rhody says. “A lot of people are working hard to farm things sustainably in different ways, and aquaculture is part of that. We just keep forging forward, because no matter what you’re eating, you want to make sure that it’s coming from a place where you know somebody’s thought consciously about how it was done.”
“Food is science,” adds Phelps. “Everything from the farm to what we do in the kitchen comes right back to it. And like everything else in the world right now, we need to listen to the science.”
Pine Island Redfish demonstrates that a truly thoughtful fish farm thinks outside the tank. It can even play an active role in restoring the seascape. Sorby’s operation turns wastewater into liquid gold by using nutrient-rich effluent to cultivate halophytic (salt-loving) plants. In addition to exciting superfoods such as sea purslane, their nursery also raises mangroves destined for local shoreline restoration projects. Through this beautifully interconnected model, a local fish farm rebuilds wild habitat, stabilizes coastline, and plays its part to ensure Florida’s marine ecosystem remains resilient for generations to come.
