An Edinburgh University student has come up with an innovative use for a whisky by-product – fish food for the aquaculture sector.
Masters student Douglas Martin harvested an Omega-3 rich algae found during the whisky distilling process and turned the raw material into “economical and environmentally friendly” fish food.
His company, MiAlgae, has just received a £500,000 investment to support’s the company planned expansion, including plans to build a new plant for its technology at a whisky distillery.
“This investment will fund the initial scale-up steps and de-risk our commercial facility. It certainly sets us on track to achieve our ambitions,” Martin told the BBC.
He added: “We’re looking at multiple industries in the supply side, multiple industries at the product side, then diversification into multiple products beyond feeds… There are lots of things we can do with our products.”
Salmon farming is one of Scotland’s economic success stories. It is the country’s biggest food export, estimated at £766M (farmgate value), and supports around 8000 jobs.
Martin’s company is already winning awards – MiAlgae was last month also crowned Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year
