Start up of the Week: Jazan startup pioneers smart aquaculture

Start up of the Week: Jazan startup pioneers smart aquaculture

RIYADH: The Saudi International Marine Exhibition & Conference, to be held in Riyadh from Jan. 30 to Feb.1, will showcase the Kingdom’s seafood industry as a major investment draw. While fishing has been practiced in the Gulf region for millennia, a range of new technologies and methods herald rapid growth of this sector. A case in point is the Red Sea Aquaculture Co., operator of a shrimp and fish farm situated near the Kingdom’s southwestern port of Jazan. RSACO has invested six years of research and development into the implementation of the Biofloc system, a form of biotechnology utilizing “good” bacteria and algae to improve water quality, waste treatment and disease prevention in intensive aquaculture systems. Aquaculture — the farming, harvesting and processing of marine products — is driven by two factors in the Kingdom. First is the effort to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil and to diversify its economy, with smart agriculture and food production being a key pillar of the Vision 2030 program for economic and social reform. Second is the value of seafood as a healthy and, if managed properly, sustainable source of protein, minerals and vitamins — improved health of the Saudi population being another