Siblings snare tech prize for fish waste idea
By ANDREW A. DUFFY, Timescolonist.com February 25, 2011
A brother and sister bent on feeding farmed fish were nourished themselves this week as they took home top prize and $30,000 at the B.C. Innovation Council's regional New Ventures competition.
Ashley and Robert Roulston, founders of Victoria-based Reef Safe Fish, took top spot after the five-month competition pitted them against scores of start-up and early-stage technology companies from across B.C.
"This means so much to us," said Ashley Roulston from Kelowna where the awards dinner was held this week. "My brother couldn't even come to the (awards) because we were running so short of money."
The cash infusion means they will not be pressed to find new investment immediately.
The company has developed a prototype closed-loop, waste recycling technology that recycles fish waste — excrement and food scraps — to produce food for penned fish.
Roulston said the waste is run through various filters, fed to a number of types of plankton which are then "pelletized" and fed back to the fish.
"It's a complete closed-loop waste recycling food production system," said Ashley Roulston, noting the system provides fish with their ideal source of omega-3 fatty acids.
"People don't realize omegas comes from plankton. People think it's from the fish, but the omegas are in the fish because they eat the plankton."
The company believes the system will save B.C. fish-farming operations money by eliminating the need to import pellets as feed, to say nothing of being able to source feed locally.
At this point Reef Safe Fish is testing its prototype system in an aquarium with plans to test in the ocean by the end of the year.
Roulston said they are running under the radar as they file for patents, but as they scale up for ocean work they expect to be looking for another $1.5 million in venture capital.
The Roulstons, originally from Sussex, N.B., are targeting salmon on the West Coast, but expect the technology will eventually be adapted for the three larger fish farming regions of Norway, the United Kingdom and Chile.
Reef Safe Fish was awarded top spot based on the judges' belief their company has the most potential for success.
Second place and $20,000 went to SideStix Ventures of Roberts Creek, which designed an ergonomic, shock-absorbing crutch for the disabled. Third place and $10,000 went to MemoryLeaf Media from Kamloops, which allows users to create a lasting online legacy for deceased loved ones through photos, videos and stories.
The competition, basically a bootcamp for business startups, is geared to support B.C.'s emerging technology industry.
