Shrimp farming, lengthy criticised for its toll on fragile coastal ecosystems, faces rising stress to reinvent itself. Typical manufacturing strategies, rooted in mangrove destruction, water air pollution, and antibiotic use, are now not appropriate with fashionable sustainability targets.
French startup Lisaqua presents a well timed different. The corporate pioneers low-impact, antibiotic-free shrimp manufacturing and has simply secured €9 million in recent funding.
The spherical was led by the Fonds Révolution Environnementale et Solidaire, backed by Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale and managed by Crédit Mutuel Impact. Belgian fund Noshaq and long-time companions, together with the Le Gouessant cooperative, additionally joined the spherical.
Restoring the steadiness to seafood manufacturing
Based in 2018 by marine biologist Charlotte Schoelinck and engineer-entrepreneur Gabriel Boneu, Lisaqua was constructed on a transparent conviction: aquaculture can feed folks with out damaging the planet.
The founders’ experience, spanning marine ecology, biotechnology, and sustainable engineering, got here collectively round one imaginative and prescient: to revive steadiness to seafood manufacturing.
The staff started with small-scale trials in aquariums and laboratories, steadily creating a pilot farm in Saint-Herblain. There, Lisaqua proved that land-based shrimp cultivation with near-zero discharge can work, laying the inspiration for a brand new normal in accountable aquaculture.
On the coronary heart of Lisaqua’s strategy lies its patented farming system, which merges biofiltration with predictive fashions to create a completely managed setting. The method safeguards mangroves and reduces water consumption by means of steady recycling, whereas waste warmth from native incineration crops is recovered to heat the tanks effectively.
Lisaqua’s round system additionally converts effluents into usable assets and reclaims worth from co-products. The end result is evident: shrimp free from antibiotics and sulfites, prized by cooks for his or her clear style and agency texture.
What’s subsequent?
This newest spherical of funding will speed up the development of Lisaqua’s first large-scale facility in Monthyon (Seine-et-Marne), with an annual manufacturing capability of 100 metric tons. Supported by France’s “Première Usine” initiative beneath the France 2030 plan, the venture represents a shift from pilot to industrial stage.
With a rising staff of 38 specialists, Lisaqua now plans to duplicate its mannequin with new farms throughout France and Europe. A Belgian website, developed in partnership with Noshaq, is beneath lively consideration.
