PM Network - January 2017

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.