A RETURN TO BEAUTY FOR FISH RIGHT NOW

Humans have done a lot to mess up the world for fish. They pollute, overfish, and engage in unhealthy farming practices. But there is one place on earth where humans have restored beauty for fish, birds, and other wildlife. It’s called Veta La Palma, an aquaculture farm located in Spain.

The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food, a new book by master chef and restaurateur Dan Barber, founder of Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, hails Veta la Palma, not only for the unparalleled quality of its fish, but because the farm actually improves each of the ecosystems of the wetlands, rivers, and oceans it touches.

We first learned about Veta la Palma through How I Fell in Love with a Fish, Barber’s brilliant TED talk about them. Barber proposed the concept as a riddle:

1. A farm that doesn’t feed its animals.

2. A farm that measures its success by the health of its predators.

3. A farm serves as a water purification plant.

Veta la Palma is all that and more. It is an example of a truly integrated operation that combines food production with ecosystem restoration and conservation.

It began in 1990, when the farm’s owners, Pesquerías Isla Mayor, S.A. (PIMSA), set out to rehabilitate a vast swath of wetlands in southern Spain -- about 28,000 acres situated within the Doñana Nature Reserve.  

The wetlands had been filled in, since the 1930’s, to support extensive rice and livestock farming in the region and it had taken a heavy toll on the fragile wetlands ecosystem.

Pesquerías Isla Mayor, S.A. (PIMSA) began its efforts to restore the wetlands in 1990 and to develop Veta la Palma with a new approach to aquaculture -- one that is good for the environment, the wildlife, and fish lovers alike.

They eventually re-flooded about 8,000 acres, recreating a beautiful habitat for fish and crustaceans. Another 8,000 acres are now dedicated to dry crops, 1,000 acres are devoted to rice, and 12,000 acres are maintained to preserve the original biotope of the marshlands.

Veta la Palma uses extensive aquaculture, based on local photosynthetic production, using a wetland system. Most conventional fish farms use intensive aquaculture, in which the fish are fed with external food supply.

The aquaculture design at Veta la Palma is complex. It links 45 giant ponds to two nearby rivers via an intricate network of irrigation and drainage channels. Powerful hydraulic pumps help to regulate the waters, depending on specific environmental and crop cycle conditions.

More than 100 islands were created in the estate’s ponds so waterfowl can nest there. Over 93 miles of riverbanks were replanted with indigenous vegetation.

Everything is carefully monitored and cared for, from salt and nutrient content, to water depth, to algae proliferation. Both the waters within Veta la Palma, and those that it returns to the river, are of exceptional quality and in perfect balance.

Migratory species of fish once again pass through Veta la Palma, including the common eel (Anguilla anguilla), striped mullet (Mugil cephalus), sole (Solea senegalensis), meagre (Argyrosomus regius), sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), black sea anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), and wedge sole (Dicologoglossa cuneata).

Veta la Palma’s pools now serve as a breeding ground for many fish and crustaceans. Shrimp (Palaemonetes varians) are so happy here, they grow to bright pink. The flamingoes that feast upon them grow even pinker. In fact, flamingoes now travel 150 miles every day just to feed on the exceptional fare at Veta la Palma.

Instead of eating processed grain and waste-based pellets, like most farmed fish eat, the fish at Veta la Palma feed on wild microalgae and shrimp that reach the ponds from the estuary through the channel system.

Top chefs marvel at the unparalleled quality, freshness, texture and wild flavour of Veta la Palma fish. The fish are harvested to order by hand in low impact seine nets, and are immediately shipped to restaurateurs and clients in Europe and the US. Check out Browne Trading Company, the exclusive distributor in the US.

Veta la Palma sells about 2000 tons of omega-3 rich, toxin free sea bass, sea bream, shrimp, eel, and sturgeon each year.

The fish have also attracted 250 species nesting and migratory species of birds, which together can reach a population of about 600,000. Veta la Palma is also now one of the largest and most important private bird sanctuaries in Europe. Birds eat about 20 percent of Veta la Palma’s fish. But no one minds. Everyone is, in fact, happier for it.

In recent developments, T. chuii, a species plankton found at Veta la Palma, has been found to be so full of exceptional flavor, it is being used as a precious haute cuisine ingredient for enthusiastic foodies. Pioneer chef Angel León, and other innovative chefs have started to use it to uniquely flavor rice and other dishes.

 

We look forward to our next visit to Veta la Palma and we hope their efforts inspire others to make the world a more beautiful place for fish, and for the rest of life on this planet.

Read more about Beautiful Fish, as they relate to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including 10 Gorgeous Books on Beautiful Fish Now and New Sea Dragon and Seahorse Beauties Happening Now.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Fish in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 03.07.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Photo: Courtesy of Veta La Palma. Fisherman.
2. Photo: Courtesy of Veta La Palma. Flamingos.
3. Photo: Courtesy of Rio Yeguas. Flamingos.  
4. Image: Courtesy of Veta La Palma. Veta La Palma Layout.
5. Photo: by ppTenorio. Veta La Palma.  
6. Photo: by Olaya Herrera. Flamingos.
7. Photo: Courtesy of Fractal Donana. Veta La Palma.
8. Photo: Courtesy of Veta La Palma. River.
9. Photo: Courtesy of Veta La Palma. Lab Work.
10. Photo: Courtesy of The University of Barcelona. Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax).
11. Photo: Courtesy of Veta La Palma. Baby Fish.
12. Photo: Courtesy of Opale Surf Casting. Sea Bream (Argyrosomus regius).
13. Photo: Courtesy of Veta La Palma. Fish.
14. Photo: by Ian Cowley. Fish at Veta La Palma.
15. Photo: Courtesy of The Solutions Journal. Veta La Palma.
16. Photo: Courtesy of Aponiente. Plancton Cocina.
17. Photo: Courtesy of Empire of the Turtle. Striped Mullet (Mugil Cephalus).