While Loc Tran is one of the Asian shrimp sector’s best known – and most respected – figures in the West, he admits that he’s treated with less reverence by many farmers in his native Vietnam. Tran’s struggles illustrate the difficulty of persuading traditional shrimp farmers – who often live a hand-to-mouth existence – to adopt practices that may take several production cycles to pay off.

Like Tran, Organic Garden’s Johannes Blei sees himself as something of a visionary, as was reflected in yesterday's intriguing webinar. While producing market-sized trout in RAS facilities still entails considerable challenges – both biological and financial – Blei lists a number of compelling reasons why the German company’s unique business model could overcome the key constraints facing indoor fish production. It will be interesting to see if RAS operators, and investors, agree.