Protecting marine stocks with a new type of fish feed while reducing the consumption of water and antibiotics in fish farming: that is the aim of the latest start-up at the University of Oldenburg, which has now been awarded a six-figure start-up grant.
The trio is developing a fish feed that does not require fishmeal, cleans the tank water and makes antibiotics almost superfluous in fish farming. The founders, coached by the university's Start-up and Innovation Centre (GIZ), will receive a one-year EXIST grant of 126,000 euros from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the European Social Fund.
The idea of Oldenburg student and co-founder Oscar Aragon Paredes is based on the fact that fish consumption is increasing worldwide. The high proportion of fishmeal in conventional fish feed harbours risks for marine biodiversity on the one hand and means high feed costs for fish farms, for example, on the other. This is precisely where Paredes and his two colleagues, fish nutrition and aquaculture expert Dr Sabine Haas and business economist Martin Ruder, come in: They combine plant-based raw materials to create a nutrient-rich fish feed.
Its composition can be adapted to the species-specific nutritional requirements, age and size of the fish to be cultivated. Antimicrobial substances purify the water and thus make it possible to save up to 35 per cent of water consumption. At the same time, they minimise the risk of disease in the fish, making antibiotics unnecessary.
The mentors of the start-up at the University of Oldenburg are Prof Dr Klaus Fichter, Associate Professor of Innovation and Sustainability, and Prof Dr Alexander Nicolai, Endowed Professor of Entrepreneurship.
The trio Haas, Paredes and Ruder had already successfully taken part in the Gründer-Garage competition in 2014 with their start-up idea and achieved 9th place out of more than 800 ideas submitted. The verdict of one of the judges at the time: "My absolute favourite. Logical and simply brilliant!"
