MEDIA RELEASE

Big Island residents and visitors will have another chance to buy fresh fish and seafood directly from aquaculture farmers at the 2nd Big Island Fish Farmers’ Market, to be held at the Gateway Center of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii, from 2-6 p.m. Friday, April 30.

This follows the successful launch of this market last month, which drew four times as many attendees as expected. An estimated crowd of 2,000 came for affordable deals on fresh, Big Island-grown fish and shellfish. The market was a festive and educational event, with cooking demonstrations by Chef Olelo paa Faith Ogawa, and presentations by Hiroshi Arai on the sustainable farming techniques of Big Island Abalone. Ono plates of whole cooked lobster, lobster salad, and grilled abalone were also a big hit with the crowd.

“This 2nd market will be bigger – with much more space, more vendors and more products,” said Guy Toyama, Executive Director of Friends of NELHA. “We’re very grateful for the amazing response from the community last month, which was overwhelming. We’re much better prepared now to accommodate a large crowd, and to meet the strong demand for sustainable, locally farmed fish and seafood.”

Products from NELHA tenants available at this month’s market include lobster, crab, abalone, shrimp, Kona Kampachi®, sea salt, desalinated deep seawater, Spirulina Pacifica® and BioAstin®. Other island-grown specialty products available include hydroponic and aquaponic produce, Waiholokui Garden’s organic produce, Big Island Bees honey, red veal sausages from Island Thyme Gourmet, and ono cooked food.

Taking place at the LEED-certified Gateway Center at the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii (NELHA), this unique Fish Farmers’ Market is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. The market will be held on the last Fridays of April, May and June, and is sponsored by the County of Hawaii Department of Research and Development.

For information on the market, including booth rental, contact Kelly Coleman at kcoleman@hawaii.rr.com or 962-6357 or Guy Toyama at guy@energyfuturehawaii.org, or 938-1017.