Features Opinion
From the Editor: Charging ahead to 2023

It is easy to let ourselves be overwhelmed with the challenges that lie ahead for the industry in this new year. Many of these challenges are outlined in our cover story – war, inflation, supply shortages, value chain breakdowns, recession, extreme weather, and of course, climate change. 

I realize that I don’t have to tell you about these problems. You are the ones who are facing these challenges day in and day out. But I think that our hope as writers is to be able to unite the industry’s voice to the same cause. It may be an overwhelming challenge to tackle as just one local hatchery, but maybe we, at Hatchery International, have a role to play in sharing experiences of the many in hopes of expressing a united cause. After all, a problem shared is a problem halved; or perhaps, even more exponentially portioned across the world.

Even as our writers looked to industry leaders to talk about their outlook for the year ahead, you’ll notice that everyone who was quoted in the cover story is driven by optimism and a sense of mission. But they are also pragmatic. 

I hope that our pages continue to search for solutions for these problems. In this issue, we share some new ideas being explored in the hatchery world. 

In addition to our industry outlook, we also have an in depth feature story about an Alaskan hatchery turned research institute that is conducting important studies in support of the shellfish industry in the United States.  

We also have a short story about developing quality broodstock for the Philippines’ black tiger shrimp industry. 

And a Kenyan startup is also making headway to support a more streamlined coordination between local fish farmers and the food production value chain. 

On the technical side, we also have our regular columnists share advice that can be implemented to your system and operations. 

This issue’s Recirc in Action column from the researchers at the Freshwater Institute shares a new study on the potential of incorporating peracetic acid into the decontamination processes at a facility. 

And, Ron Hill’s Hatchery Hack column introduces some fundamentals behind plumbing and the role it plays in the running of a facility. The column identifies some common challenges to old infrastructures, and hopefully, help hatcheries that are looking for an upgrade.

These are only some ideas that we were able to fit in the pages of this issue. The goal is to continue identifying ongoing industry problems and sharing new ideas to solve them. I’d love to hear your ideas at jkodin@annexbusinessmedia.com.