JANUARY 2016

Copano Blues Shrimp: The Future of Shrimp Have you ever tried Copano Blues Shrimp? If you love your shrimp firm and with a clean, sweet flavor, you'll love Copano Blues. These shrimp are farmed using innovative hi-tech farming methods that make them superior to other farmed shrimp, and could even give them the edge over wild shrimp. High-Tech Shrimp Farming Solution The shrimp are grown on a farm in Taft, Texas, which is located on Copano Bay. The bay provides fresh water for the farm, and it acts as a nursery area for wild gulf whites and gulf browns. That makes it absolutely ideal for growing shrimp. The farm is known as a "closed loop Recirculating Aquaculture System," or an RAS for short. That might sound complex, but what it means is every single aspect of the environment is carefully controlled. Controlling the water quality is the secret if you want to achieve the best health possible for the shrimp. These shrimp (called Litopenaeus vannamei) just love warm water. However, if the water is too warm, it will kill them. And if the water is too cold, the shrimp will grow too slowly. So at the Copano Blues farm the water temperature is controlled to make sure it is absolutely perfect. It keeps the shrimp healthy, and helps them to grow faster. Fast-Growing Shrimp How fast do these shrimp grow? Let's compare it to a traditional shrimp farm. A standard farm in somewhere like Ecuador will grow 26-30ct tails, and it will take anywhere from 30 to 36 weeks. But Copano Blues are different. These are grown to U-15ct and 16-20ct tails, and it only takes about 20 to 22 weeks. That is a massive 30 percent faster—and the shrimp are nearly twice the size! Superior Farming Features The hi-tech facility also has other features that make it superior, including bio-security, great nutrition, premium water quality, non-GMO genetics, and a recirculating, zero-discharge system. What exactly is bio-security? This is all about disease control. There are no open ponds in the Copano Blues farm, and rigid air domes nearly the size of four football fields in length cover every aspect of the complex from the hatchery to the production ponds. By making use of positive air pressure, air-born diseases are kept out, keeping the shrimp safe.

Capable of Producing Huge Quantities The facility produces a huge amount of shrimp. Each dome produces hundreds of thousands of pounds of shrimp, so the amount of pounds produced in the area compares favorably to other options. For example, in one acre of land, you can produce:

45 lbs of beef 273 lbs of soy protein 1,000 lbs of shrimp in a traditional farm

But the Copano Blues farm produces over 20,000 lbs of protein per acre, which is a huge increase. In fact, cocktail sauce on the same plate should be made illegal! These shrimp have an awesome flavor all on their own—so now it's time to try them out for yourself. Advanced Waste Control The farm uses indoor ponds that are lined with plastic liners, unlike normal shrimp farms. It also has a drainage system to remove the waste that the shrimp produce. To get an idea of just how much waste is produced, let's look at a traditional shrimp pond. These are usually eight feet deep at the start, but when the shrimp are harvested, they are only six or seven feet deep. The one to two feet at the bottom are taken up with shrimp droppings, shells, and uneaten food. But on the Copano Blues farm, all of this waste is removed. The Benefits of Natural Biofloc The ponds at the Copano Blues farm also use natural biofloc to keep the water quality high and improve nutrition. The shrimp feed on pro-biotic biofloc, and this helps to clean the water. The biofloc contains natural bacterium that break down toxic ammonia and nitrates and convert them into nitrogen gas, which is harmless. At the moment, Copano Blues farm is focused on shrimp. But this same advanced technology could be used for other fish too. In fact, Global Blue Technologies, which is the parent company, is building a research and devel-opment facility to work out how it can use the same system for various fish species. It is planning to grow live sable fish at the Copano Bay facility by mid-2016. So you could soon be eating fresh sable fish from south Texas!

Congressional Seafood Co. January 2016 Newsletter Produced by KSM Marketing Contributing Writers: Tim Sughrue, David Fye

IN SEASON Albacore Tuna Amberjack Baramundi Black Bass, RI Black Bass, VA Blue Catfish, VA Catfish Cod, East Coast Cod, West Coast Crab, Venezuela Crab, Dungeness Fluke, Carolina Grouper, Gulf of Mex-ico

Halibut, East Coast John Dory, Domestic Mahi, South America Monk Oysters, Chesapeake Pollock Razor Clams Sea Bass, Chilean Shrimp, Gulf Snapper Stone Crab Claws Striped Bass (Rockfish) Sword, Domestic Tilapia Tuna (Yellowfin)

SHRIMP WITH TOMATOES AND FETA SERVES 4

Recipe from David Fye

Congressional Seafood Co. Corporate Chef

The Copano Blue Shrimp is a perfect shrimp for this recipe. The natural sweet flavor of this domestically farm raised

shrimp complements the ingredients. Ingredients: 4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 scallions, minced 1 tbsp. tomato paste

1⁄2 cup white wine 1 tsp. dried oregano

1⁄2 tsp. sugar

1⁄4 tsp. crushed red chile flakes 4 medium tomatoes, grated 3 tbsp. chopped fresh mint 16 large shrimp (about ¾ lb.), peeled and deveined Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 4 oz. feta 1 lemon, halved 1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley Instructions: Arrange a rack 4" from heating element; heat oven to broil. Heat oil in a 10" skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and scallions; cook, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook for 2 minutes. Add wine; cook until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add oregano, sugar, chile flakes, and tomatoes; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stir-ring often, until slightly thickened, 12 minutes. Stir in mint and shrimp, season with salt and pep-per; crumble feta over top. Broil until bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Squeeze lemon over top. Garnish with parsley.

The Great Wicomico Oyster

Company From the “Napa Valley of Oysters”

The Chesapeake Bay

What makes Great Wicomico different?: We are the Greenest

Oyster farm on the Chesapeake. We are focused on sustainability in both our oysters and in

our home brewed Biodiesel we run in our equipment.

We not only strike and raise Triploid oysters for summer harvest from larvae, we also

strike and raise Diploid (breeding) oysters that breed genetically improved (not GMO)

genes into the bay. While this makes farm and crop management a bit of a challenge, we be-

lieve it is worth the effort to introduce better breeding stock to the Chesapeake Bay.

Our oyster barge and land equipment are 100% biodiesel/electric hybrid or electric

powered. Our biodiesel is made from local restaurants’ used fryer oil, so we are removing

waste from the waste stream and replacing a fossil fuel lowering greenhouse emissions.

Barrett Cove Oysters – Our flagship oyster. We’ve known these oysters since they were set on

cultch as Larvae! Aquaculture raised on the Great Wicomico, these oysters have the perfect

balance of salinity and creamy finish with a delicate and inviting minerality.

Our full and delicate meats are presented within a deep white shell. These make the perfect

half shell oyster!

Featuring the NEW “Dock to Door in 24”

(Order your oysters by 9AM and get them to your door FRESH within 24 hours)

BARRETT COVE OYSTERS $48 / 100 CT. BAG

The wild blue catfish has a "green" sustainable rating

from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch

List. Wild blue cats are an invasive species in the

Chesapeake Bay. Native to the Ohio and Mississippi

River basins, introduced into the James River in the late

70's, their population has exploded to an estimated 90 million fish! They are top of the

food chain predators in the Bay devouring many native species like blue crabs, rockfish,

menhaden and herring. With a diet like this the blue cat produces a delicious white flaky

fillet. Eat'em to beat'em is our motto and we need you to help save our native species in

the Chesapeake Bay.

CHESAPEAKE WILD BLUE CATFISH

LOOK FOR US

AT BOOTHS

#620—621

JANUARY

National New England Clam Chowder Day

January 21

Winter Restaurant Week January 25—31

FEBRUARY

Groundhog Day Tuesday, February 2

Super Bowl Sunday, February 7

Mardis Gras Tuesday, February 9

Ash Wednesday Wednesday, February 10

Valentine’s Day Sunday, February 14

Presidents Day/GRAMMYS Monday, February 15

Academy Awards Sunday, February 28

Coming Up in March:

Ocean City Trade Expo March 6-7

Seafood Expo Northwest March 6-8

Name of Employee:

Luis Eduardo Ordonez

Year of Hire:

2013

Role at Congressional:

Driver Manager

Favorite Sports Team:

Real Madrid C.F.

Dream vacation:

Hawaii

CALENDAR

2016