#106: Rethinking Fish Farms for Regenerative Agriculture with Pine Island Redfish

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we explore how Pine Island Redfish is flipping the script on aquaculture. Megan Sorby, CEO of Pine Island Redfish, shares how they're raising redfish in a land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) while restoring mangrove ecosystems—nature’s original coastal defense. It’s a model they believe could be replicated to help tackle seafood supply issues, enhance climate resilience, and build community engagement. Megan talks about navigating regulations, partnering with scientists to track environmental impact, and creating local-to-global solutions through sustainable seafood and education.

Key Points:

• Aquaculture as Coastal Climate Resilience: Megan frames land-based fish farming as a critical tool in bolstering coastal communities against rising seas and intensifying storms. With mangroves reducing coastal flooding by up to 70%, integrating restoration into food production is a win-win.
• Challenges in Restoration: Megan outlines the regulatory hurdles faced by restoration projects. While private landowners may easily plant mangroves, restoring public or protected areas requires navigating complex state and federal permitting—often delaying urgent action.
• Scalable, Replicable Model: Pine Island Redfish is creating a blueprint for how sustainable aquaculture can co-exist with, and even enhance, coastal ecosystems. By collecting real-time data on fish production and plant survival rates, they’re building a measurable case for aquaculture as ecosystem restoration.

Voices on The Show: 

• Megan Sorby, CEO of Pine Island Redfish
• LinkedIn

• Lisa Ann Pinkerton, Earthlings 2.0 Host, CEO of Technica Communications, and Founder of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability 
• LinkedIn: Lisa Ann Pinkerton
• X - Lisa Ann Pinkerton 
• Instagram - @LisiAnni
• Technica Communications 
• Women in Cleantech and Sustainability

Web Resources:

• Pine Island Redfish
• LinkedIn

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