Scott Nichols
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Scott Nichols is an American inventor and marketer focused on making fish farming more sustainable.[1] Nichols promoted the process of using a yeast rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs) as an alternative food source for farmed salmon. Nichols is the recipient of the 2012 SeaWeb Innovation Award and the 2015 IntraFish Seafood International Marketer of the Year Award. He co-founded Verlasso and founded Food's Future.[2] He serves on the board of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.[3]
Before starting Food's Future,[4] LLC, Nichols sought innovation in fish farming as a businessman and scientist.[5] With the yeast, Nichols delivered a viable salmon diet option that did not rely on wild fish to provide the EFAs in farmed salmon diet. By decreasing the ratio between wild fish consumed to salmon produced, the yeast rich in EFAs reduced the dependency on wild fish.[6]
Education and career
[edit]Education
[edit]Nichols received his doctorate in biochemistry from UCLA. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is on the List of Wharton School Alumni.[7]
Employment
[edit]In 2001, Nichols began his nearly 15-year career at DuPont as a researcher and new business developer. As an inventor, he has over 40 patents.[8]
In 2006, Nichols co-founded Verlasso Harmoniously Raised Fish as part of a project between DuPont and AquaChile to farm salmon sustainably.[9] During his tenure at Verlasso, Nichols helped bring about the transition to using enriched yeast to break aquaculture's reliance on wild fish to provide omega-3s required for salmon diets.[10] This development served as one of the reasons Seafood Watch, a program from the Monterey Bay Aquarium that recognizes environmentally responsible fish farming practices, named Verlasso salmon a “good alternative” in 2013.[11] Verlasso Atlantic Salmon were the first ocean-raised salmon to receive this distinction from Seafood Watch.[12]
Changing the salmon's diet to include yeast reduced the number of wild fish necessary to raise healthy salmon. The Blue Marine Foundation noted the fish in/fish out ratio decreased from 3:1 to 1:1 when the omega-rich yeast replaced fish oils in salmon diets.[13] This reduction did not stop discussion over whether the advancement was enough to shift public opinion on fish farming and modified fish food.[14]
Nichols is an opponent of genetically modified salmon due to his views that the method would damage the environment and fish ecosystems along with the future of food, and the salmon market. During a congressional hearing held on December 15, 2011, Nichols’ beliefs were mentioned during the discussion of benefits and problems caused by genetically engineering fish.[15]
In 2015, after leaving Verlasso, Nichols started Food's Future, LLC, an aquaculture consultancy for economically and environmentally sustainable ventures. Food's Future is based on Nichols’ belief that the growing population brings new challenges to sustainable aquaculture. Nichols gained the support of the Global Aquaculture Alliance when he said changes in the climate and population demand improvements to fishing farm practices.[16]
From 2005 to 2011, he served on the board of directors for the JRS Biodiversity Foundation.[17] In 2016, Nichols was elected to the board of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
Awards and honors
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Boyd, Claude. Aquaculture, Resource Use, and the Environment.
- ^ "SeaWeb" (PDF).
- ^ "Aquaculture Stewardship Council | ASC Appoints Four New Members to Supervisory Board". www.asc-aqua.org. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ "Food's Future – Food's Future is devoted to creating new economically and environmentally sustainable aquaculture ventures that will provide delicious, nutritious and healthy seafood to an expanding world". Retrieved 2024-10-05.
- ^ "Interview Today: Scott Nichols; Director, Verlasso Salmon". Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ "Is Sustainable Farm-Raised Salmon Possible?". Food Tank. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ "Scott Nichols, Aquaculture & Fish Farming Consultant & Speaker". Food's Future. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ "Scott E. Nichols - Patent Inventor". www.freshpatents.com. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ "Reuters". Reuters.[dead link]
- ^ "Aquaculture Exchange: Scott Nichols, Food's Future | The Advocate". advocate.gaalliance.org. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ Morgan, Diane. Salmon: Everything You Need to Know.
- ^ "SeafoodWatch" (PDF).
- ^ "The man who says GM fish food could feed the world without a catch". Blue Marine Foundation. 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ "Can Technology Make Salmon Farming Sustainable?". TakePart. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ "Environmental Risks of Genetically Engineered Fish". United States Congress. December 15, 2011.
- ^ "Boston brainstorm: Getting consumers to embrace aquaculture | The Advocate". advocate.gaalliance.org. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ "JRS Biodiversity Foundation". jrsbiodiversity.org. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ Nadkarni (a_nadkarni), Avani (2015-05-12). "Scott Nichols: Seafood Marketer of the Year". IntraFish.com | Latest seafood, aquaculture and fisheries news. Retrieved 2024-10-21.