TransparentSea Farm

With a name like TransparentSea, our messages will be transparent, even when the water is turbid. Our first phase of production is a biofloc farming system that relies on small floating probiotic and bacterial communities that turn the water turbid (or golden brownish). This color is similar to that of the mangroves and swamps where shrimp spend their early lives foraging and hiding from predators. In perfectly clear water, young shrimp are stressed and perform poorly. While... the water is colored, the shrimp come out clear and white, with sometimes just a hint of blue. These clean, sweet and low environmental impact shrimp will be ready for harvest in two weeks and represent our first commercial batch. There is another right behind them, but quantities are limited and they’ll go quickly. DM me to discuss. #shrimpinainteasy #farming #eightyearsinthemaking #urbanagriculture #losangeles #laeats #sustainability #lowimpact

What a long haul it has been to facelift this old neglected manufacturing building! Big filming going down this week as we prepare for ! Instead of making parts for NASA spacecrafts or more recently illegally selling junk autos and dumping car fluids, healthy sustainable are growing on this property. First wholesale sales in late May. Prawn Shop opening to the public for retail and events this summer! To everyone who’ve said I was crazy, you’re not wrong, but I’ve take...n it as a compliment. #entreprenuerlifestyle #disrupt #urbanagriculture #aquaculture #losangeles #beforeandafter #shrimpinainteasy

This is what #winning the #easteregghunt looks like. Happy Easter and Happy Spring to you all and to these delicious, little, antibiotic-free, hormone free, resource-efficient, ten-legged creeps. Website facelift and Pre-sales are coming soon... #legs #legday #shrimp #urbanagriculture #ecofriendly #science #cleaneats #sustainability #aquaculture #shrimpinainteasy

Preparing our no vacancy sign next...

Oh how my Friday nights have changed... this is urban aquaculture. #urbanfarming #trailblazer #aquaculture #shrimpinainteasy #shrimp #losangeles

Our desire for cheap shrimp is destroying ecosystems and lives, and increasingly quickly. India has become the largest producer of shrimp in the world and we’re the largest importer. You do the math and tell me who is to blame for this tragic but common story of pollution, greed, and people getting full body rashes from swimming in the water body they grew up on. Notice the satellite images from Google Earth. At the end of the article (link in bio), the local government scoff...s at the idea that there are illegal shrimp farms (since they are bought off). A quick search shows loads of farms on the shores of what used to be a productive vibrant lake. And it’s not just India, this is happening all over. Soon you’ll be able to buy fresh local shrimp produced indoors in Los Angeles. You can also learn about what other seafood products might be worth buying or in many cases, avoiding. #knowyoursource #eatsustainably #impact #shoplocal #ecotips #ecofriendly

While we are still working through permitting and construction phases, Ray Rangel stopped by for a visit and put together a short video of what we have going on at TransparentSea. Here's a bit about what I'm doing and why. #aquaculture #innovation #sustainablefood #sustainabilty #passionforwork #purposedriven #shrimpinainteasy https://www.linkedin.com//urn:li:activity:673272965812892/

Jiminy Cricket! That’s a lot of lumber! Materials for the next set of tanks are arriving and things are getting loud in here. These will be 4 tanks at 16,000 gallons each. #shrimpinainteasy #urbanfarming #aquaculture #farmlife @ganahllumberco

While cooped up at home, it's easy to forget about the effects our consumerism has on the planet. It's easy to be overwhelmed with the negative news and neglect the positive power you can wield as a conscious and vocal consumer. Our urban farm is working through a pandemic to get sustainable, clean, local shrimp into your hands (and mouths). Why? Because we know what it is like to feel powerless as foreign production, marketing, packaging and supply chains are so complicated ...that our decisions seem meaningless. We also know that it’s more important than ever to build businesses that challenge problematic industries, give us clean, nutritious food and give our planet a fighting chance. You aren't powerless, pandemic or not, but you have to know what's going on in an industry in order to change it. Here’s a great starter video demonstrating how most seafood goes from fish to plate. Thanks to @future_of_fish for creating and @pescavore_seafood for sharing! #education #environment #timeforchange #disruption #consciousconsumerism

Haven’t checked the Chinese zodiac but pretty sure 2021 is going to be the year of the shrimp. Big updates coming soon. #shrimpinainteasy #anewprawn #prawiningofanewday

Happy Monday. It’s our first Monday on the farm and we are hungggry! (Especially the tank sitting on the pile of feed). #squad #fatkid #shrimp #aquaculture

‘Tank you’ to my friends for helping on weekends! I’m a lucky dude! We are looking to prove that there is a market out there for premium quality, guaranteed clean shrimp, but fancy tanks can eat up a lot of capital in the early days. We’d rather put that money towards our higher tech RAS growout system. For now, borrowing an idea from friends in the industry (cough @aquaco_farms), we kept it low budget yet still strong and durable for our nursery tanks. 100,000 shrimp will be stocked in one of these. Look out for post of us welcoming our first little ones in the coming weeks! #shrimpinainteasy #aquaculture #creativity #goodfriends

I’ll do almost anything to get this business off the ground, including shameless self-promotion of my story! I got a call this spring to discuss my journey from college wrestler to urban shrimp farmer. David from The Coin Flyp summarized the call and wrote a little bit about it here. Check out their other stories about real people. Some you may know, some you may not, but they all have real and often inspiring stories! https://thecoinflyp.com//i-became-a-reinvention-machine-ho

Highs and lows... This week we won a long awaited vote in public hearing to officially operate our farm and open the retail center (5-0). We are as few as 2 months away from turning on the water. A day earlier, TransparentSea lost one of it's biggest supporters (and our leading facebook commenter). While I wasn't able to return for my grandmother's final days, we talked about the business recently and often. She was an entrepreneur and businesswoman in a time before the struggles of female entrepreneurs/executives were mentioned in the mainstream. She was a positive force. I'll look to channel some of that positivity and strength as TransparentSea does things that haven't been done before.

Our retail room is getting a touch of blue...accent wall tomorrow. #comingsoon #104degrees #shrimpinaintasy #aquaculture

Misrepresentation of seafood as ‘sustainable’, ‘responsible’, or ‘all-natural’ is a hot trend that nearly always goes unpunished. It’s really rampant in shrimp, where companies from Crowd Cow to Whole Foods to Thrive Market are all offering ‘sustainable’ wild shrimp. According to the @seafoodwatch program however, the very best wild shrimp options are listed only as good alternative. This breaks the inherent definition of sustainable, or able to be repeated indefinitely. Th...e only options for shrimp that are truly sustainable are farmed in controlled environments. This is not an opinion, but that of a science-based non-profit. Photo 1 is an example of a rare consumer group lawsuit in the salmon industry. From a business standpoint, it’s a no-brainer to slap a label on the package that says something to justify jacking up the price, because there is seldom any recourse! The truth is that aquaculture methods are mostly improving, but the SUPPLY of truly responsibly produced, clean or responsibly harvested seafood is very limited. Don’t pay more for ‘sustainable’ wild caught shrimp unless there are multiple certifications on the package from real certification groups. Even then, know that you are probably being misled because they have to certify something for us to eat! Go to the producers websites and ask questions! No website telling their unique story? You’ve probably been duped. In a few months there will be a better option. You’ll be able to stop into our retail facility in LA County, ask questions and see for yourselves. #sustainable #ecofriendly #falseadvertising #seafood #shrimp

Think your tasty wild shrimp is sustainable? Think again... Wild shrimpers kill an average of 6 pounds of other sea life to land 1 pound of shrimp. Only now that 10 tiny porpoises, called vaquita, remain in the Sea of Cortez are importers threatening to require paperwork to say where and how Mexican shrimp were caught. It’s too late for the vaquita, but high time to start asking how your seafood is produced. The archaic method of netting animals from the sea makes very little sense in most cases. #vaquita #sustainableaquaculture #shrimpinainteasy #consciouscapitalism #knowyoursource #science #aquaculture #shrimp #learning #zerowaste #sustainable #environment #learning

The people who used to work here apparently hated walls... nothing a little happy hour construction can’t fix. @ Downey, California

FINALLY moving into our building next week!FINALLY moving into our building next week!

Ever try grilling whole shrimp? When they are high quality, it's absolutely a different experience. Why is the flavor so much better? Because science...Most of the fat is in the 'head', stored with other nutrients in an organ called the hepatopancreas. While we celebrate marbling and high fat content in meats like Wagyu, processors pop the most flavorful part of the shrimp off before it even reaches you! Memorial Day! Reflecting on fallen heroes, and grilling to kick off summer. Regardless of where you get yours, grill up some shrimp today and for your own sake, leave the heads on while they cook!!