Does FST have Competition?
The Answer is a simple "No".
Invention of the Zero Discharge System
FST has designed, built and operated two types of fully recycled aquaponic systems with Abalone and Seaweed in saltwater, and Tilapia and Vegetables in freshwater. The Abalone closed loop recycle system was developed after years of research permits from the New Zealand Government to study Abalone, Mussels, Sea Urchins, Rock lobster, Octopus, and various Seaweeds growing naturally in the Ocean from 1986 through to year 2000. Founders used their own private funding and as industry farmers/growers know, in order to learn how to successfully grow fish one must experience mortality of fish, sometimes many times over before true understanding and success can be achieved. No amount of reading books can replace the blood, sweat, and many tears that went into developing the knowledge gained which has allowed founders to design this recycle system. The Saltwater system operates in a totally closed loop, with a stocking rate of 0.45 lbs. of abalone per gallon of seawater. This stocking density rate is phenomenal by anyones standard who is familiar with commercial aquaculture farming. In addition to the high stocking rate it is a world first because this has never to date been duplicated in a closed loop recycle system developed, yet the founder created the system in 1995. The symbiotic relationship between fish, shellfish, seaweeds and vegetables developed by FST has never been duplicated in a seawater closed loop recycle system thus, there is no competition.
Efficiency
The system designed is energy efficient simply for the reason that necessity became the Mother of invention. Since the project was self funded by the Founder without any additional outside funding whatsoever, the question of how to reduce power and feed cost, the two most expensive aspects of a system like this had to be answered. At the time, in late 1980's, fish and shellfish feeds were being developed but those feeds were not only too expensive, the Casein, milk based protein feed turned the seawater toxic within minutes. Again trial and error, dead abalone using that artificially produced feed and another lesson learned the hard way. Founder decided to use live, locally harvested seaweed instead and stumbled across a perfect symbiotic relationship by growing the freshly harvested seaweed into the recycle system. The system naturally strips the ammonia and nitrite out of the recycled water which improves the water quality instantly. The question now was how to address both Abalone which needs pristine clean saltwater, dark an cool temperatures and seaweed which prefer, nutrient dense, brackish water, sunny and 20 degree warmer temperatures in the same system. Like so many other discoveries this was by God's miracle and Founder was able to streamline into a fully closed commercial recycling system. Founder was able to maintain the system in operation continuously for over three years even with huge stocking rates never having to discharge the water. The operation efficiency of the FST system is in a league of its own with no other competition ever documenting the same success.
Abalone Spontaneously Spawn in Recirculating System
Another miracle happened when the brood stock of Abalone in the system began spawning spontaneously without any inducement. This could only happen if the seawater quality and conditions were perfect as was in this system and with this unique discovery, the Founder was prompted to move from Research Permits to applying for Seafood Farming License for not only Abalone but Saltwater Fish, Mussels, Sea Urchins, Rock Lobster, Octopus, and various Seaweeds. To-date there is no Abalone hatchery operating with 100% recycled seawater which FST has developed silent of any competition.
Unbelieving Authorities
Upon success of his Abalone System, founder, Quentin Koromete, applied for Fish and Shellfish Farming License. However, the license was held back for two years, by the New Zealand Government for the reason that the founder had NOT identified where the system wastewater was to be discharged. Since this was a Zero discharge system, for three (3) years the founder did not discharge any waste. There was much discussion over the developments of founders system with the authorities, only to be told that NO one in the world has this technology and therefore he could NOT possibly have discovered something new. Officials even attempted to force founder to give up the secrets of his intellectual property and the Founder refused. Upon a chance discussion regarding his predicament with workplace colleagues who, like the founder himself, were local government officials, they devised a strategy to identify a dump site which was then signed off by the regional government authority as the site he would be able to dump his waste. Three days after the letter from the regional government authority "dumpsite" was presented to NZ Federal Government Officials in 1999, Founder received his Abalone and Saltwater Fish, Mussels, Sea Urchins, Rock Lobster, Octopus, and various Seaweeds, Farming License. Note: Founder never did have to use the dumpsite for his Zero Discharge system. New Zealand is considered by many nations as having the highest standards for conservation and protection of the environment nonetheless, founder was successful in obtaining the first license to farm fish and shellfish in a working recycled closed loop system. Licensed fish and/or shellfish farms that use seaweeds or vegetables to consume the toxic waste in closed loop recycle systems is so rare that FST's competition with licensed farmers does not exist.
Specialized Hatchery Technology
The majority of Aquaponic growers do not have fish hatchery facilities and simply buy in fingerlings as required. The biological hatchery technology is very specialized and no one can develop this knowledge without proper study courses nor hands-on experience. Building and operating a hatchery that produces fingerlings and larvae for on-growing requires expertise that can not be acquired by reading books or surfing the internet. Founders have heard of so many individuals and groups growing fish in small volumes with low stocking rates then, moving towards commercial stocking rates to increase profits only to find in the morning all the fish dead for no apparent reason. For example, one website after 3 years of claims to produce one million dollars plus of fish and vegetables, the fish shown in the video at three months disappeared in the next video at three years, with only vegetables being produced. Hatchery management is a highly sophisticated discipline that also requires "white room" cleanliness for continuous success. Founder obtained this discipline and knowledge with a post graduate degree from Deakin University where he was exempt from attending the campus laboratory semester because The University Dean stated his abalone recycled hatchery project was more than sufficient to qualify his absence. The only requirement was to write his thesis on the Abalone closed loop recycled system. Founder studied the disciplines of water quality, fish and shellfish propagation, feed and nutrition and commercial aquaculture. FST commercial aquafarm systems all have hatchery facilities inclusive of the design as compared with most existing or new aquaponic systems that do not provide any hatchery facility whatsoever.
Coping with Large Volumes of Fish Waste
In Commercial or large scale Aquaculture it is impossible to compete with FST for two main reasons: The first being that the volume of commercial fish farm waste is anything from 2,000 gallons to 5,000 gallons per day of waste sludge material. Should an Aquaponic system want to convert this waste to liquid fertilizer, the volume of medium beds to complete the conversion would range from two acres to five acres in area. The system would be prone to blockages, leaks, and major problems. The second issue is the cost to build and operate will be prohibitive in a commercial environment. We address these issues directly, the competition conventional systems will collapse in a short time coping with volumes of a ton or more of fish feed a day.
Patented Fish Waste Treatment Technology
Growing commercial quantities of fish in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) is difficult if one has not had training or experience. To-date no system has ever been developed to intentionally convert commercial volumes of fish and feed waste liquid into plant fertilizer in a symbiotic relationship within the same system. FSC founders have developed and proven the concept in the original Abalone and Seaweed recycled system and more recently 2012 developed the process that included compost fertilizer system, to be patented called the BONANZA. This system had Tilapia and Vegetables grown together in a 100 square foot greenhouse, which was the genesis for the Suburban Aquafarm system. This patent has the advantage of a zero discharge for any size fish farm, at the same time eliminate the cost of expensive synthetic fertilizer by using the converted fish and feed waste into free plant fertilizer. Apart from the fact that the vegetables grown in this way would qualify as Organically Grown under the Organic Certification Act and yield a premium price, this system is sustainable and enhances biodiversity. There is no competition with the FST commercial aquafarm designs.
Discharge Permits for Fish Farmers
Aquaculture fish farmers using RAS to grow fish usually filter the cycled tank water and separate out the solids using foam fractionators then they simply discharge the waste sludge to a pond or to fields or worst to adjacent waterways. This is where expensive discharge permits are required by all other fish farm systems. Our system reduces and in some states eliminates the need for these types of expensive permit requirements.
Commercial Aquaponic Viability
Most aquaponic systems are very small as noted in the survey of "Commercial Aquaponics in US" posted under this website's PROFITABILITY page. In comparison the FST Commercial Aquafarm systems are massive and designed to take advantage of the economy of scale. In fact the FSC Aquaponic system not only competes directly with land based Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) but can even replace the need for Large Sea Cage Systems that damage the environment. Apart from the disruptive technology the fish production system is far more efficient than any RAS, and the fish feed is organically grown and sustainable which allows labelling of our fish as organically grown and sustainable, something these other systems have difficulty obtaining. This insures to attract a premium price for FST fish.
Organic Hydroponic System
The hydroponic greenhouse production is completely to organic standard and all the FST Systems fertilizer is derived from organic biological nitrogen fixation. This qualifies labelling the vegetable produced as organic and sustainable. Very few Commercial hydroponic system can claim to be organic.
Tank Designs
Some Commercial Aquaponics Systems use rectangular tanks which have inherent "dead spots due to lack of aeration and circulation. Although these tank designs are great for utilizing space in a building for example, they are destine to fail because of the difficulty in exchanging the toxic water to maintain good water quality. FST uses unique circular tanks with cone bottoms to provide for automatic cleaning of fish and feed waste in all its tank designs.
Aeration Designs
Commercial Aquaponic growers pay little attention to ensure the maximum aeration or dissolved oxygen (DO) levels are maintained in their systems. High DO levels increase fish and vegetable growth rates, while low DO levels reduce growth rates and in some cases wipe out an entire batch of fish. Low cost air stones with small 10 to 50 watt pumps positioned at random points, appear to be the favorite design for aquaponic systems. The FSC aeration design within each system uses neoprene diffusers to both aerate and cycle the water with 100 watt diaphragm air pumps. Extra diffusers are positioned to create vertical flow that ensure the DO levels are the same throughout the tanks. All other aquaponic systems use centrifugal pumps that run at 200 to 2,000 watts to achieve water exchange and circulation within the system. The FST commercial aquafarm design not only provides higher and consistent DO levels than conventional aquaponic system, but the energy consumption a factor of 5 to 8 times more efficient for the same production of fish and vegetables.
Organic Fish and Shellfish Feed
FST has developed a proprietary tilapia fish feed blend that they used in their home grown tilapia and vegetable aquaponic system. Developing an organic fish feed takes time and money to test different formulas which FST has already done and identified great sources of protein such comfrey and spirulina that can be grown in large quantities. Many aquaponic growers use generic brands for their fish feed which have wild caught fish, soy, corn and other chemical additives that does not qualify as Organic feed nor is it sustainable. FST have developed organic feed for tilapia and is poised to expand this knowledge into developing other types of fish and shellfish feeds that is sustainable and commercially viable for its systems.
FST has designed, built and operated two types of fully recycled aquaponic systems with Abalone and Seaweed in saltwater, and Tilapia and Vegetables in freshwater. The Abalone closed loop recycle system was developed after years of research permits from the New Zealand Government to study Abalone, Mussels, Sea Urchins, Rock lobster, Octopus, and various Seaweeds growing naturally in the Ocean from 1986 through to year 2000. Founders used their own private funding and as industry farmers/growers know, in order to learn how to successfully grow fish one must experience mortality of fish, sometimes many times over before true understanding and success can be achieved. No amount of reading books can replace the blood, sweat, and many tears that went into developing the knowledge gained which has allowed founders to design this recycle system. The Saltwater system operates in a totally closed loop, with a stocking rate of 0.45 lbs. of abalone per gallon of seawater. This stocking density rate is phenomenal by anyones standard who is familiar with commercial aquaculture farming. In addition to the high stocking rate it is a world first because this has never to date been duplicated in a closed loop recycle system developed, yet the founder created the system in 1995. The symbiotic relationship between fish, shellfish, seaweeds and vegetables developed by FST has never been duplicated in a seawater closed loop recycle system thus, there is no competition.
Efficiency
The system designed is energy efficient simply for the reason that necessity became the Mother of invention. Since the project was self funded by the Founder without any additional outside funding whatsoever, the question of how to reduce power and feed cost, the two most expensive aspects of a system like this had to be answered. At the time, in late 1980's, fish and shellfish feeds were being developed but those feeds were not only too expensive, the Casein, milk based protein feed turned the seawater toxic within minutes. Again trial and error, dead abalone using that artificially produced feed and another lesson learned the hard way. Founder decided to use live, locally harvested seaweed instead and stumbled across a perfect symbiotic relationship by growing the freshly harvested seaweed into the recycle system. The system naturally strips the ammonia and nitrite out of the recycled water which improves the water quality instantly. The question now was how to address both Abalone which needs pristine clean saltwater, dark an cool temperatures and seaweed which prefer, nutrient dense, brackish water, sunny and 20 degree warmer temperatures in the same system. Like so many other discoveries this was by God's miracle and Founder was able to streamline into a fully closed commercial recycling system. Founder was able to maintain the system in operation continuously for over three years even with huge stocking rates never having to discharge the water. The operation efficiency of the FST system is in a league of its own with no other competition ever documenting the same success.
Abalone Spontaneously Spawn in Recirculating System
Another miracle happened when the brood stock of Abalone in the system began spawning spontaneously without any inducement. This could only happen if the seawater quality and conditions were perfect as was in this system and with this unique discovery, the Founder was prompted to move from Research Permits to applying for Seafood Farming License for not only Abalone but Saltwater Fish, Mussels, Sea Urchins, Rock Lobster, Octopus, and various Seaweeds. To-date there is no Abalone hatchery operating with 100% recycled seawater which FST has developed silent of any competition.
Unbelieving Authorities
Upon success of his Abalone System, founder, Quentin Koromete, applied for Fish and Shellfish Farming License. However, the license was held back for two years, by the New Zealand Government for the reason that the founder had NOT identified where the system wastewater was to be discharged. Since this was a Zero discharge system, for three (3) years the founder did not discharge any waste. There was much discussion over the developments of founders system with the authorities, only to be told that NO one in the world has this technology and therefore he could NOT possibly have discovered something new. Officials even attempted to force founder to give up the secrets of his intellectual property and the Founder refused. Upon a chance discussion regarding his predicament with workplace colleagues who, like the founder himself, were local government officials, they devised a strategy to identify a dump site which was then signed off by the regional government authority as the site he would be able to dump his waste. Three days after the letter from the regional government authority "dumpsite" was presented to NZ Federal Government Officials in 1999, Founder received his Abalone and Saltwater Fish, Mussels, Sea Urchins, Rock Lobster, Octopus, and various Seaweeds, Farming License. Note: Founder never did have to use the dumpsite for his Zero Discharge system. New Zealand is considered by many nations as having the highest standards for conservation and protection of the environment nonetheless, founder was successful in obtaining the first license to farm fish and shellfish in a working recycled closed loop system. Licensed fish and/or shellfish farms that use seaweeds or vegetables to consume the toxic waste in closed loop recycle systems is so rare that FST's competition with licensed farmers does not exist.
Specialized Hatchery Technology
The majority of Aquaponic growers do not have fish hatchery facilities and simply buy in fingerlings as required. The biological hatchery technology is very specialized and no one can develop this knowledge without proper study courses nor hands-on experience. Building and operating a hatchery that produces fingerlings and larvae for on-growing requires expertise that can not be acquired by reading books or surfing the internet. Founders have heard of so many individuals and groups growing fish in small volumes with low stocking rates then, moving towards commercial stocking rates to increase profits only to find in the morning all the fish dead for no apparent reason. For example, one website after 3 years of claims to produce one million dollars plus of fish and vegetables, the fish shown in the video at three months disappeared in the next video at three years, with only vegetables being produced. Hatchery management is a highly sophisticated discipline that also requires "white room" cleanliness for continuous success. Founder obtained this discipline and knowledge with a post graduate degree from Deakin University where he was exempt from attending the campus laboratory semester because The University Dean stated his abalone recycled hatchery project was more than sufficient to qualify his absence. The only requirement was to write his thesis on the Abalone closed loop recycled system. Founder studied the disciplines of water quality, fish and shellfish propagation, feed and nutrition and commercial aquaculture. FST commercial aquafarm systems all have hatchery facilities inclusive of the design as compared with most existing or new aquaponic systems that do not provide any hatchery facility whatsoever.
Coping with Large Volumes of Fish Waste
In Commercial or large scale Aquaculture it is impossible to compete with FST for two main reasons: The first being that the volume of commercial fish farm waste is anything from 2,000 gallons to 5,000 gallons per day of waste sludge material. Should an Aquaponic system want to convert this waste to liquid fertilizer, the volume of medium beds to complete the conversion would range from two acres to five acres in area. The system would be prone to blockages, leaks, and major problems. The second issue is the cost to build and operate will be prohibitive in a commercial environment. We address these issues directly, the competition conventional systems will collapse in a short time coping with volumes of a ton or more of fish feed a day.
Patented Fish Waste Treatment Technology
Growing commercial quantities of fish in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) is difficult if one has not had training or experience. To-date no system has ever been developed to intentionally convert commercial volumes of fish and feed waste liquid into plant fertilizer in a symbiotic relationship within the same system. FSC founders have developed and proven the concept in the original Abalone and Seaweed recycled system and more recently 2012 developed the process that included compost fertilizer system, to be patented called the BONANZA. This system had Tilapia and Vegetables grown together in a 100 square foot greenhouse, which was the genesis for the Suburban Aquafarm system. This patent has the advantage of a zero discharge for any size fish farm, at the same time eliminate the cost of expensive synthetic fertilizer by using the converted fish and feed waste into free plant fertilizer. Apart from the fact that the vegetables grown in this way would qualify as Organically Grown under the Organic Certification Act and yield a premium price, this system is sustainable and enhances biodiversity. There is no competition with the FST commercial aquafarm designs.
Discharge Permits for Fish Farmers
Aquaculture fish farmers using RAS to grow fish usually filter the cycled tank water and separate out the solids using foam fractionators then they simply discharge the waste sludge to a pond or to fields or worst to adjacent waterways. This is where expensive discharge permits are required by all other fish farm systems. Our system reduces and in some states eliminates the need for these types of expensive permit requirements.
Commercial Aquaponic Viability
Most aquaponic systems are very small as noted in the survey of "Commercial Aquaponics in US" posted under this website's PROFITABILITY page. In comparison the FST Commercial Aquafarm systems are massive and designed to take advantage of the economy of scale. In fact the FSC Aquaponic system not only competes directly with land based Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) but can even replace the need for Large Sea Cage Systems that damage the environment. Apart from the disruptive technology the fish production system is far more efficient than any RAS, and the fish feed is organically grown and sustainable which allows labelling of our fish as organically grown and sustainable, something these other systems have difficulty obtaining. This insures to attract a premium price for FST fish.
Organic Hydroponic System
The hydroponic greenhouse production is completely to organic standard and all the FST Systems fertilizer is derived from organic biological nitrogen fixation. This qualifies labelling the vegetable produced as organic and sustainable. Very few Commercial hydroponic system can claim to be organic.
Tank Designs
Some Commercial Aquaponics Systems use rectangular tanks which have inherent "dead spots due to lack of aeration and circulation. Although these tank designs are great for utilizing space in a building for example, they are destine to fail because of the difficulty in exchanging the toxic water to maintain good water quality. FST uses unique circular tanks with cone bottoms to provide for automatic cleaning of fish and feed waste in all its tank designs.
Aeration Designs
Commercial Aquaponic growers pay little attention to ensure the maximum aeration or dissolved oxygen (DO) levels are maintained in their systems. High DO levels increase fish and vegetable growth rates, while low DO levels reduce growth rates and in some cases wipe out an entire batch of fish. Low cost air stones with small 10 to 50 watt pumps positioned at random points, appear to be the favorite design for aquaponic systems. The FSC aeration design within each system uses neoprene diffusers to both aerate and cycle the water with 100 watt diaphragm air pumps. Extra diffusers are positioned to create vertical flow that ensure the DO levels are the same throughout the tanks. All other aquaponic systems use centrifugal pumps that run at 200 to 2,000 watts to achieve water exchange and circulation within the system. The FST commercial aquafarm design not only provides higher and consistent DO levels than conventional aquaponic system, but the energy consumption a factor of 5 to 8 times more efficient for the same production of fish and vegetables.
Organic Fish and Shellfish Feed
FST has developed a proprietary tilapia fish feed blend that they used in their home grown tilapia and vegetable aquaponic system. Developing an organic fish feed takes time and money to test different formulas which FST has already done and identified great sources of protein such comfrey and spirulina that can be grown in large quantities. Many aquaponic growers use generic brands for their fish feed which have wild caught fish, soy, corn and other chemical additives that does not qualify as Organic feed nor is it sustainable. FST have developed organic feed for tilapia and is poised to expand this knowledge into developing other types of fish and shellfish feeds that is sustainable and commercially viable for its systems.
Other forms of Competition:
Nestle S.A, Coca Cola, Unilever, Kelloggs, General Mills, Associated British Foods, Groupe Danone S.A, Mars Inc., Mondelez International Inc., and PepsiCo Inc., are seen as FSC's competition as we believe our company in 5 years time will be in the same league. According to Jochnick, many of these companies are “unaware of the social and environmental impact that they are creating or facilitating.” FST's business is founded upon primary source of fish and shellfish production as well as the primary source of vegetables, edible seaweeds and spirulina production with total control over feed and fertilizer. In contrast all 10 companies have highly processed food products, developed from their primary sources that provide for the so-called "Western Lifestyle" and now, Obesity is a bigger health crisis globally than hunger, and the leading cause of disabilities around the world, according to a new report published Thursday in the British medical journal The Lancet, December 2012. People worldwide are moving away from "Western Lifestyle" eating habits and looking for organic, clean healthy food which FSC will have the exclusive market with its new food standard ENVIROCULTURE™ brand that is organic and better. And we pray that we will lead people away from that lifestyle to healthy fresh Enviroculture & Organic Foods.
Nestle S.A, Coca Cola, Unilever, Kelloggs, General Mills, Associated British Foods, Groupe Danone S.A, Mars Inc., Mondelez International Inc., and PepsiCo Inc., are seen as FSC's competition as we believe our company in 5 years time will be in the same league. According to Jochnick, many of these companies are “unaware of the social and environmental impact that they are creating or facilitating.” FST's business is founded upon primary source of fish and shellfish production as well as the primary source of vegetables, edible seaweeds and spirulina production with total control over feed and fertilizer. In contrast all 10 companies have highly processed food products, developed from their primary sources that provide for the so-called "Western Lifestyle" and now, Obesity is a bigger health crisis globally than hunger, and the leading cause of disabilities around the world, according to a new report published Thursday in the British medical journal The Lancet, December 2012. People worldwide are moving away from "Western Lifestyle" eating habits and looking for organic, clean healthy food which FSC will have the exclusive market with its new food standard ENVIROCULTURE™ brand that is organic and better. And we pray that we will lead people away from that lifestyle to healthy fresh Enviroculture & Organic Foods.
