Top 10 Under 40: Zachary Janiak

Top 10 Under 40: Zachary Janiak

Born to RAS

Zachary Janiak believes he was born to grow fish. And as farm manager of Hudson Valley Fisheries (HVF) in Hudson, N.Y, he is living his dream and everyone he works with knows it. “Passion and dedication are key, it has to be in your heart,” the 28-year-old says.

Senior farm manager Brittany Peachey, who was also recognized as one of the Top 10 Under 40 last year, describes him as someone who leads with passion and tenacity. “You will be hard-pressed to find someone that is more invested in their fish hatchery operations than Zach Janiak,” she writes in his nomination form. “He eats, sleeps, breathes fish farming. Through challenges and setbacks, he is constantly working to progress and improve farm operations.”

Within his six years at Hudson Valley Fisheries, his work ethic drove him through from being an aquaculture technician to assistant aquaculture operations manager, and now to farm manager. His biggest passion in aquaculture is in RAS technology. Janiak firmly believes that RAS is the future of the industry and he is all in.

“There should be a farm like HVF in every city, supplying locally and responsibly-raised fish,” he says. “You know what your fish ate and what it swam in, it’s a beautiful thing. The U.S. is importing around 80 per cent of its seafood, it’s ridiculous. I have received complaints in the past that our fish are too fresh, never thought that was possible! RAS encourages sustainability, traceability, smaller carbon footprint, waste reuse, water reuse, biosecurity, reduced pressure on depleted wild populations, and year-round production.”

By Jean Ko Din