Ecocean's BioRestore® science-based fish restoration process.
Photo: INVE Aquaculture / Ecocean
INVE Aquaculture has entered a new partnership with French ecological restoration company Ecocean to support its BioRestore programmes, which focus on improving the survival of young fish during their early life stages.
Under the agreement, Belgium-headquartered INVE Aquaculture will contribute specialised feed solutions for use in Ecocean’s nursery programmes.
The companies said the partnership aims to support young fish during the critical period before they are returned to their natural habitats.
Ecocean, based in France, has spent more than 20 years developing approaches to restore aquatic ecosystems and support marine biodiversity. Its work includes projects in ports, coastal areas and marine environments, carried out in partnership with public authorities, industry partners and conservation organisations.
The company’s BioRestore process is based on the capture, rearing and restocking of wild post-larvae. These young fish are collected from the wild, grown to juvenile stage under controlled conditions and then released back into the wild once they are considered stronger and better able to survive - with nutrition of key importance during the nursery phase.
“Early life marine fish needs diversified and good quality food to grow… From alive zooplankton collected during the initial BioRestore capture step to the high-quality pellets from INVE, all juveniles need the best to grow! INVE shared their long time experience and knowledge to fit our specific request,” said Ecocean CEO and founder Gilles Lecaillon, commenting on the partnership via a press release.
INVE Aquaculture, which specialises in nutrition and health solutions for early aquatic life stages, said it will draw on its experience in larval feeding to support the growth and robustness of the juvenile fish used in Ecocean’s restoration work.
“Through resource restoration projects like Ecocean’s Biorestore, we, at INVE, contribute our expertise in larval feeding to maximize the success of the reintroduction. I am very proud to have helped establish this partnership, as it highlights our shared passion for the ocean and our desire to respect and protect it for future generations,” said Thomas Raynaud, Product & Business Development Manager Diets at INVE Aquaculture.
The companies said the partnership reflects a shared view that marine restoration and sustainable aquaculture can be complementary, with knowledge developed in aquaculture also supporting work on biodiversity recovery.
