The Principals of Regal Farms, a start up company, who proposes to establish a fish farm in Barbados has provided the following information about the project and themselves.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Regal Farms LLC, was established in September of 2012, with initial capitalization provided by the founders. The company proposes to establish a commercial scale, close-containment, fish farm on three acres of land in the Sanford section of St. Philip on the island of Barbados in the Caribbean. Regal Farms–through licensing, knowledge transfer and partial funding from Israeli-based aquaculture consultants, Aquamaof Aquaculture Industries–will establish a turnkey operation that utilizes innovative technology which conserves water, reuses waste, optimizes energy inputs and promotes greater yields. Aquamaof recently opened the largest and most advanced fish farm facility in Europe which will yield 1,200 metric tons of tilapia annually.
We at Regal Farms believe that fish farming, using sustainable practices, is a great way to increase the Caribbean region’s seafood supply while reducing pressure on our oceans. By partnering with Aquamaof, we intend to follow a “smart aquaculture” model to produce sustainable seafood. Sustainable seafood comes from sources both wild and farmed that are healthy for our planet now and in the future. Its production occurs without harming the longterm viability of the species, the ecosystems and communities upon which production depends. At optimal capacity operations will include: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging and marketing of barramundi.
We at Regal Farms will create a local and regional demand for this increasingly popular, non-native species–also known as Asian sea bass or sustainable sea bass. The Regal Farms project came into being through the efforts of Richard Alleyne and David Silverberg. It is the intention of Regal Farms to construct a facility that will serve as an example to all industry on the island of energy efficient operations that produce a minimum carbon footprint and has a minimum impact on the environment.
In addition to developing a commercially successful fish farm, it is of paramount importance to Richard and David that Regal Farms also serve as an engine for local community enterprise and overall development of the aquaculture sub-sector regionally.
With nine billion people predicted to be on our planet by year 2050, experts anticipate we’ll need a 70% increase in food production to meet all of our needs. This reality makes a strong case for the responsible stewarding of our precious natural resources, and the introduction of a food production technology that makes it possible to breed fish in a controlled environment in any country, during all seasons.
Given the current environmental and economic climate in the Caribbean region, we at Regal Farms will create a stronger, more diverse and profitable fisheries sector in Barbados by fully realizing the potential of sustainably harvested fish products through fish farming.
Through the establishment of Regal Farms, we will contribute to local GDP through local sales and by integrating ourselves regionally through the export of our products. We will create jobs through our operations: growing, harvesting and distribution. Regal Farms will form relationships with local and regional actors to promote this form of aquaculture technology and will create a public education component to our operations that will focus on teaching the next generation of Barbadians about environmentally sustainable food production.
Regal Farms will operate as a close-containment, land-based farm–a production model considered ‘the gold standard’ for sustainable aquaculture. Regal Farms will aim to recycle and purify 99% of our system water and use our fish waste as fertilizer in an onsite hydroponics greenhouse/laboratory to grow and test various crops using our byproduct. Because Regal Farms will use a close-containment, tank-based system and not coastal cages, we will help mitigate the effects of overfishing and pollution by allowing wild stocks to replenish and coastal habitats to recover–while helping meet the increasing demand for fish products. Aside from the commercial implications and overall contributions to national GDP, the growth of this subsector could help reconnect us to the origin of our food.
FOUNDERS
Richard Alleyne: A Caribbean native, Richard is responsible for conceptualizing the Regal Farms project. He holds a BA in Political Science/International Affairs from Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA. For over fifteen years Richard has succeeded in driving public awareness, advocacy and engagement for non-profit organizations and political campaigns in the New York metro area and nationally, repeatedly exceeding all goals and expectations set before him.
Most recently Richard has worked on development issues impacting children for UNICEF and has extensive experience with advocacy and public education campaigns working with the media (domestic and international), private sector, community-based organizations such as civic groups, communities of faith and the elected officials representing these constituents and stakeholders.
Richard is particularly interested in the effects of climate change and its impact on food security and economic development. He is also a proponent of “green growth”–a new approach to economic growth that puts human well-being at the center of development, while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services to support sustainable development.
Richard has honed a strong competitive advantage by providing a razor-sharp and intuitive understanding of effective brand marketing and media strategy and he possesses a leadership style to engage stakeholder groups as evidenced by:
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Propelled the UNICEF Tap Project (clean water campaign) to national prominence; serving as the primary media contact for project that grew from a single city pilot to a national campaign in 49 states.
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Coordinated task-force for New York City Council subcommittee on mental health which was instrumental in elevating the subcommittee to full committee status; brought together a cross section of field experts in behavioral and psychological sciences as well as consumer advocates to generate an impactful task-force report on the supervision of outpatient care for the mentally ill.
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Played key role in crafting communications strategy for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s ‘Believe in ZERO’ campaign; raising awareness and positively impacting the reduction of global child mortality; reducing daily mortality deaths from 25,000 to 22,000 for children under 5.
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Spearheaded social media strategy to engage new audience markets; penning web stories for social media platforms and creating canned Tweets and Facebook status updates for spokespeople and celebrity ambassadors.
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Established a Haitian-American task-force to advise on Haitian and Diaspora issues related to UNICEF’s work in Haiti; a segment of that task-force was responsible for garnering $1M in donations for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Richard is the proud father of two girls. He lives in central Florida with his wife and youngest daughter.
David Silverberg: An engineer by training, Dave is responsible for the technical necessities of Regal Farms. Dave is also the CEO and CTO of Lektra Laboratories, Inc. In 1969 Dave founded Photo Research and Products, Ltd. of Israel (PRP). PRP developed and manufactured a precision line of equipment for the production of printed circuits, including cameras and silk screen presses and became a major supplier of this equipment to the electronics industry in Israel and Europe.
PRP production retained foreign currency verses importing this equipment. PRP gained the reputation for producing the closest tolerance printed circuit screen printers in the world market. Ten years later he transferred operations to the U.S. and took over Lektra Laboratories, a leading supplier of high-end photo lab control equipment worldwide–first established in 1940.
Using Design for Manufacturing procedures (DFM), Dave increased production allowing for a quadruple in sales after just two years.
Dave holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and later served at Stevens as a Visiting Professor of Machine Design and Project Management. Dave has served as a supplier and consultant to major companies such as: Motorola, Elbit, Elscint, Machon Weizman,Technion, Bizallel, Ort, Amal, Scitex, Kodak, Polaroid, Fugi and many other industry leaders worldwide.
Dave served in the Israel Defense Forces in an engineering capacity where his duties were to guide rescue operations in buildings damaged by hostilities. His job was to evaluate damage and then guide his men in doing what was necessary to make the building safe for rescue of victims in the building.
Dave lives in the Bronx, New York with two of his daughters. His other three children have returned to Israel where they have blessed him with 10 grandchildren.
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