Florida redfish could soon be more widely available thanks to Sarasota company

Bringing redfish to the community

Redfish, prized by anglers across Florida, have been historically scarce in commercial markets due to overfishing in the mid-1980s, leading to a ban on commercial harvesting of wild redfish. Mark Wilson reports.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Redfish, prized by anglers across Florida, have been historically scarce in commercial markets due to overfishing in the mid-1980s, leading to a ban on commercial harvesting of wild redfish.

Megan Sorby's Pine Island Redfish is working to change this by raising redfish in aquaculture tanks at Mote Marine Research Park in Sarasota. 

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Local perspective:

Currently, they harvest twice a year, in the spring and fall, making their farm-raised redfish available in select Gulf Coast Publix stores and restaurants like Indigenous in downtown Sarasota. 

The owner of Indigenous notes that the quality of the farm-raised redfish is excellent, offering a clean, sweet white meat. 

Big picture view:

Pine Island Redfish currently produces about 24,000 pounds of redfish annually. They utilize the nutrient-rich wastewater from their tanks to grow mangroves, which are then used for coastal restoration efforts, enhancing their sustainability. 

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Their goal is to contribute to a more seafood-independent U.S. market by farming a local fish.

What's next:

Pine Island Redfish has plans for significant expansion with a fully permitted site on Pine Island off the coast of Fort Myers. This larger facility is expected to create more than 40 full-time jobs and dramatically increase redfish production by several thousand pounds per week. 

While currently producing around 24,000 pounds of redfish a year, their mangrove cultivation efforts are also set to increase, with a target of producing 45,000 trees in the coming year. 

Consumers can anticipate seeing more of Pine Island Redfish in retail locations and on restaurant menus, particularly in the Gulf Coast region, as the company scales up its operations.