eventually host a shrimp hatchery, grow-out farm,
processing plant and feed mill. While this project
is land-based, aquaculture projects also exist in
oceans, on shorelines and along rivers.
Synchronized Fishing
With scarce talent spread all over the world,
most aquaculture projects, including
Mr. Frese’s, involve international col-
laboration via online tools and weekly
conference calls. But having a local
partner on the ground to
negotiate with external
stakeholders and con-
tractors is a must: Local
project managers, he says,
are crucial when interact-
ing with the government
about permitting, zoning
and infrastructure matters.
Securing buy-in among
local stakeholders is one of
the greatest challenges all
aquaculture projects face.
Local project managers
often have to deal with a
not-in-my-backyard men-
tality, says Anton Immink,
global aquaculture director
Partnership, Stirling, Scot-
land. The nonprofit works to rebuild fish stocks
and to improve the environmental and social
impacts of aquaculture.
“That mentality is particularly a problem in the
coastal areas of developed countries as residents
try to protect the perceived beauty or the tour-
ism trade,” Mr. Immink says. “But other parts of
the community often see value in farms bringing
employment.”
And the stakes are certainly high. If people want
to keep eating fish, aquaculture is the only way for-
ward, Mr. Immink says. “Many wild-catch popula-
tions have stabilized, but those stocks aren’t going
to grow. The only way to meet demand is through
farming.” —Carol Wolf
A Novel Restoration
More than 55 years after his death, Ernest Hemingway is helping bring Cuba and the United States together. A joint-country
project team is working to preserve thousands of artifacts
at the Nobel Prize-winning author’s former home outside of
Havana. The project involves constructing a state-of-the-art
conservation lab on the property—the first structure built in
Cuba with U.S. materials since the 1950s.
The US$862,000 project, funded by a group of
U.S. companies, comes at a time when relations
between the two nations are thawing. The Cuban
government currently manages Hemingway’s
house, now a museum and one of the most
popular tourist destinations on the island. But
prior to intervention, the house lacked funding
to protect the massive collection of Hemingway
possessions. Working closely with the Cuban
government, the U.S.-based Finca Vigía Foundation assembled a binational team of architects,
engineers and preservationists to restore and
protect books, photos and manuscripts.
The initial shipment of supplies, the first
export of construction materials to Cuba since
the U.S. relaxed the trade embargo, arrived in
May 2016. The project team had to train local
workers on various tools many had never seen before. With
construction supplies finite, the team will have to meticulously avoid waste—and be patient.
Bob Vila, co-chairman of the Finca Vigía Foundation, said:
“The restoration of Hemingway’s home and his documents is
an ongoing process, and there is still much more to do.”
—Kelsey O’Connor
“It’s
frequently
a challenge
to keep the
best people
on your
particular
project due
to the sheer
number of
projects being
developed
worldwide.”
—Tom Frese, AquaSol Inc.,
Miami, Florida, USA
Finca Vigía
Foundation
assembled a
binational team
of architects,
engineers and
preservationists
to restore and
protect books,
photos and
manuscripts.
Ernest Hemingway’s
house in Havana, Cuba
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