Open Blue will virtually transport world's top chefs and customers to the open ocean starting June 8th utilizing leading-edge technology

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160607/376794)

"The theme this year for World Oceans Day is directly in line with Open Blue's philosophy that a healthy and sustainable environment means healthy and sustainable fish," said Brian O'Hanlon, a third generation fish farmer and Open Blue Founder. "We are committed to nourishing not just current but future generations in harmony with the ocean. Everything we do is with deep reverence for the intrinsically connected ecosystem of fish, oceans and people." 

Launched in 2003 and designated as a global day of ocean celebration and collaboration for a better future, World Oceans Day will take place on June 8^th and will focus on its 2016 theme, "Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet."  As a way to demonstrate its commitment to healthy oceans, Open Blue is organizing beach cleanups near its farms in Panama and in Nova Scotia in honor of World Oceans Day. Watch for live tweets at @openbluepanama and @openbluecobia.

Open Blue has revolutionized fish farming by moving offshore to carefully cultivate Cobia in the deep, pristine ocean waters of the Caribbean Sea near Panama. Pure, healthy and safe - free of contaminants, hormones, colorants and pesticides, Open Blue Cobia is beloved by chefs for its versatility, and is raised far offshore and away from sensitive ecosystems, where the fish have plenty of room to grow in large, stress-free, deep-water enclosures that mimic their natural environment. This results in a healthy fish that is naturally high in protein and very rich in Omega 3 (DHA & EPA), with levels almost twice as high as farmed Atlantic salmon.

To effectively convey the significance of its pioneering industry-changing paradigm, Open Blue partnered with another innovative company, Koncept VR (http://www.konceptvr.com), to create a 360-degree, virtual reality piece that transports viewers directly to its deep, underwater pens.  Utilizing VR headsets and 360 video technology, customers can swim with thousands of Open Blue Cobia in the clear, beautiful waters of the Caribbean Sea. 

"Our open ocean mariculture system is so unique that one truly has to see it to fully appreciate it," continued O'Hanlon. "Chefs are busy people who can rarely take time off to visit farms in other continents, so we created a way to take the farms to them." The Open Blue experience can be downloaded via Open Blue's app (http://www.openblue.com/app) and viewed in 360° on a smart phone or with a cardboard viewer.

Important seafood statistics:

• In the next 40 years, we will need more food than the last 10,000 years combined.
• Based on population growth and rising per capita income/consumption global seafood demand is expected to reach 261 million metric tons by 2030. Wild capture fisheries will remain flat at around 88 million metric tons a year.
• Aquaculture will continue to grow from 59 million metric tons in 2010 to 123 million metric tons in 2030.
• This leaves a 51 million metric ton gap between seafood supply and demand.

About Open Blue:

Open Blue, the largest deep-water, open-ocean farm in the world and the single largest supplier of premium, sustainable Cobia to the U.S., is a pioneer and leader in deep water open-ocean raised fish. The culmination of a decade of cutting-edge, investigative research in collaboration with the world's leading scientific laboratories and universities on deep ocean aquaculture, Open Blue's cobia are carefully cultivated in the pristine ocean waters of the Caribbean Sea twelve kilometers off the coast of Panama, far offshore and away from sensitive ecosystems. Open Blue's waters are deep -- 65 to 70 meters -- clean and pure. Its fish are raised in low-density, fully submerged pens, swim in high-energy currents and never see the same water twice. This approach means a natural growing environment for Open Blue's fish and no significant impact to the surrounding ecosystem.   

Based in Panama City and with offices in Los Angeles, Miami, Nova Scotia and throughout Europe, Open Blue is dedicated towards making a difference in the communities within which it works. The company sources local products, supports education through scholarships and builds community wells. 

For more information, visit: www.openblue.com.

SOURCE Open Blue