The world is hungry for fish. It’s on the menu for over 3 billion people. But here’s the catch – wild fish stocks are in hot water, with 85% of them already fully exploited or overfished. So how will the world fill their plates? Aquaculture has been rapidly growing to fill this market gap. However, fish farming isn’t without negative impact, some common concerns being nutrient pollution, runoff from wastes, using wild caught fish for feed, among others.

Thankfully, David Fincham Aquaculture in South Africa has devised a better way – FarmInABox. FarmInABox is exactly what it sounds like, a ready-to-farm, land-based system. It’s designed as an accessible way for anyone to farm fish sustainably by lowering the bar of financial risk and technical requirements. The system is highly efficient, with low water and energy use, small footprint, and zero waste. David Fincham Aquaculture is based just outside Johannesburg, yet FarmInABox is already feeding people across Africa.

We caught up with David while searching for solutions for Global Goal 14, Ocean Conservation. FarmInABox will feature in the upcoming release of Global Opportunity Report 2018 on February 1st, which highlights companies tackling the Global Goals in the greatest need for innovation. Small scale aquaculture operations play an important role to support community livelihoods and food security, and we want to learn more about how FarmInABox is empowering entrepreneurs to feed cities across the continent.

What inspired you to start your aquaculture operations, and to eventually create FarmInABox?

How is FarmInABox influencing the current market landscape for seafood in South Africa?

FarmInABox is a compact, easy-to-install, and ready-to-farm fish system, which allows monthly cyclic production of fish requiring only simple skills for the system’s operation. FarmInABox allows anyone to farm fish anywhere and at almost any scale

How does FarmInABox impact local food security?

Urban agriculture is expanding worldwide. By farming fish with FarmInABox, fresh fish is made available to the local community where it is farmed. In addition, the wastewater is great for farming all types of leafy greens and can be used in hydroponic/aquaponic systems as well.

What challenges do you face in creating a more sustainable aquaculture system, and how have you met those challenges so far?

The main challenge is getting small-scale farmers the funding required to set up and operate the systems until they are profitable. Farmers in certain locations will still face steep competition from wild-caught fish. However, within the urban and peri-urban environment, consumers are increasingly looking for fresh, readily available fish.

Aquaculture is criticized for the environmental impact of unsustainable feed sources such as wild-caught fish. How would you respond to that?

Tilapia can be fed fishmeal free diets, with more sustainable alternatives instead, which makes them an attractive fish to farm.

There can be concern about the impacts of water pollution from aquaculture. What are your practices for sourcing water and processing effluent from your operations?

FarmInABox is designed to be a highly efficient system with low water and energy use, small footprint, and zero waste. In developing the system, a wide range of environmental, logistical, and operational parameters were drawn up and the best efforts were made to minimise the system’s impact and maximise its benefits.

What’s your advice for entrepreneurs looking to solve global challenges?

Don’t give up! There is no challenge we cannot overcome. When we network and share, we discover so many opportunities that can only be developed by working together. Focus on the end goal, measure your success in small steps, and celebrate each milestone with your family, friends, employees, and customers.

Curious about businesses built on solutions to ocean conservation and the Global Goals? Discover innovative ideas on the Global Opportunity Explorer.