Fish farm looks at leather
10/09/2008
A holiday in south-east Asia has persuaded the president of Virginia-based fish producer Blue Ridge Aquaculture, Bill Martin, that growing his company could be easier than he thought, with leather one of the spin-off products he is looking at.
In Thailand on vacation, he took a ride on an elephant through some rice fields. When he saw a huge shrimp emerge from the water, he asked local farmers what they used to feed the crustacean. Their answer was that they did not have to do anything because the shrimp fed on waste from the tilapia fish that live in the water covering the rice plants. Tilapia are also the mainstay of Mr Martin's company.
He has now launched a $40 million expansion project at his factory in Martinsville, hoping to maintain his status as largest indoor tilapia producer in the world, increase overall production and move into the shrimp market.
He has insisted that his operation will be "as green as a gourd", with membrane filtering technology to allow him to re-use water and a leather production spin-off using the heads and tails of the shrimp.
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