Chilean salmon farming plays an important role on numerous geographical scales. Globally, salmon aquaculture now accounts for over one-third of all farmed salmon produced. If you live in the United States and consume Atlantic salmon, it has most likely come from Chile or Norway (the world’s top producer). Within Chile, salmon is the country’s … More A brief, abridged, gringo’s guide to Chilean salmon farming
If you are a pregnant human, 8 months is perhaps not such a long time (considering it normally takes a full nine). If you are a fruit fly, 8 months is perhaps more lifetimes than you can comprehend (because, after all, you are a fruit fly). My point is that it’s all relative. As … More La Magia del sur: Salmon in Chile
When I was in high school, I worked at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago where I interacted with visitors and talked with them about the animals in the exhibits. One of the central components of my job was to be aware of my audience. My conversations differed between kids and adults, local boat owners and … More Repetition and Revolution
Stewart Island is not technically at the end of the world, but it certainly feels like it. From the South Island it can only be reached by small ferry (cancelled when the Foveaux Strait is too rough) or 8-seater airplane that arrives in a small clearing of trees on a single strip of paved concrete. … More Salmon Farming at the End of the World
Yes, it has been almost a month since my last update. My mom might say that this post is long overdue. I’d like to think of it as “fashionably late”. Either way, it’s here. I recently “celebrated” the six-month mark of my Watson year. A friend asked me if it has felt like a full … More Six Months of Aquaculture
When I first started putting together my Watson proposal, one of the challenges my university’s campus advisor put to me was to think of a project where traveling was absolutely essential. She asked me: What couldn’t be learned from the internet or in the United States? What kinds of “You just had to be there” … More Up close and personal (with aquaculture)
Dear all, I’ve found myself, at last, in the small town of Twizel. I’ve just begun working/interning/participant-observing with the animal husbandry team at Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon, which farm raises King (aka Chinook) salmon in freshwater canals along Lake Pukaki, Tekapo, and Ohau. While my numerous bus rides through New Zealand have given me plenty of … More Glaciers, Mountains, Salmon!
Dear all, I’m writing to let everyone know that I am indeed alive and well despite the fact that I haven’t written anything for quite some time. I am writing this post from Chiang Mai, a popular city/province in northern Thailand. The city is much smaller and quieter than Bangkok and I’ve been enjoying the slower pace of … More Adventures in Chiang Mai
I’ve mentioned this before, but it feels so important that it bears worth mentioning again. The aquaculture industries in Southeast Asia are so incredibly complex and diverse that trying to parse apart all of my understandings feels like trying to separate out each of the individual neurons on our brain. I knew this going into … More Encountering Diversity in Thai Aquaculture
Greetings from Jakarta, I have made it here safe and sound! I am taking this time over the long weekend (Monday is the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha/Idul Adha) to update you before I head out to different fish farms around Indonesia. I arrived late afternoon on Thursday and was pleasantly surprised/seriously humbled to learn first-hand how … More Relearning the ropes in Jakarta, Indonesia
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