Aquaculture is the wave of the future for World Champion surfer

10-time world champion paddler and surfer, Jamie Mitchell, in film to showcase sustainable fish farming. Aquaculture is sustainable.

By Samantha McLeod

SeaWestNews

Legendary champion paddler and surfer Jamie Mitchell (pictured) has begun to tell the world that sustainable aquaculture is the wave of the future.

The 10-time Paddleboard World Champion and Professional Big Wave Surfer, Mitchell stars in the short documentary film, “Full Circle – The Journey of a Waterman,” which made its debut at the Seafood Expo North America in Boston, Massachusetts on Sunday, 11 March.

In the documentary, Mitchell surfs, paddles, and talks with fish farmers who are committed to raising fish in a sustainable way. The film follows Mitchell’s journey from the northern part of Patagonia to visit a Verlasso salmon ocean farm, to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, where Pacifico Aquaculture raises the only farmed striped bass in the world, along with five other locations around the globe, reported SeafoodSource.

The film is directed by Eric Wolfinger , a traveling cook who found his calling behind the lens. The New York Times describes Wolfinger as “the Annie Leibovitz of food photography”. The film’s key partner is Verlasso, an aquaculture company.

“The significance of the whole film is to see aquaculture with a fresh pair of eyes,” Wolfinger told SeafoodSource. “When a lot of people picture aquaculture, they think about factory farms. But the farms we visited are so far away from civilization; I was impressed with how unobtrusive they were.”

“I’m trying to reach out to my friends who are protesting [in Australia]. I want to do something that is going to help,” said Mitchell. “I am very excited about sustainable aquaculture and the future, and how we can make a positive impact.”

Wolfinger hopes that other aquaculture companies, around the world, will utilize the film to publicize ocean farmers’ sustainable practices.

Verlasso Salmon said; “Jamie has made the ocean his playground, and his work space and he holds the utmost respect for it. Surfing saved his life as a child, helping him overcome severe asthma. Now, he is fueled with a passion for learning how he can take care of the ocean in return by going beneath the surface. As a legend in the surfing community, his goal is to educate those around him about the importance of supporting sustainable aquaculture and the positive effects it has on the health of our oceans when done correctly.”

The “Full Circle” film is described as a convincing story that gives a sense of place, sense of time, and sense of care at every level.

It will be shown at several large trade shows this year for people to come together to see how aquaculture is done better and in a really good, sustainable way.