In Pictures: Fish and edible greens thrive in urban aquaponics venture
Aqua Greens creates a self-contained ecosystem in which fish swimming in huge vats provide nutrients for arugula, basil and chives floating above
Pablo Alvarez envisions a day when Torontonians will wander his Aqua Greens aquaponics farm in the city centre, choosing bunches of arugula, basil and chives as well as a couple of the tilapia swimming below the plants. Customers will be able to buy fish and local, organic greens any time of year, says Mr. Alvarez, an entrepreneur and long-time waiter.Kathleen Caulderwood/The Globe and Mail
For now, the aquaponics farm – a self-contained ecosystem in which fish swimming in huge vats provide nutrients for plants floating above on foam pads, which in turn clean the water for the tilapia – is relegated to a 3,000-square-foot industrial park near Pearson International Airport.Kathleen Caulderwood/The Globe and Mail
Fish are brought in from local hatcheries. They can live for as long as 10 years, Mr. Alvarez says. Before they set up their current location in September of 2014, Mr. Alvarez and partner Craig Petten were denied permission to launch in Toronto proper, given that the city’s zoning bylaws don’t allow agricultural operations. It’s a pain point for the small business, which supplies produce – the tilapia aren’t for sale yet – to multiple restaurants in the downtown core.Kathleen Caulderwood/The Globe and Mail
The bootstrapped startup is at full capacity, producing about 12,000 plants a month with 5,000 tilapia. The guys behind Aqua Greens say the business will make its way into the black in the coming months, more than a year after the first harvest.Kathleen Caulderwood/The Globe and Mail
The founders haven’t paid themselves yet, but they say a more pressing challenge is finding a way to compensate the six or seven volunteers, mostly students of environmental science or zoology, who also pitch in. They help with the harvest, clean the systems and brainstorm how to make Aqua Greens more efficient.Kathleen Caulderwood/The Globe and Mail
Big tanks hold about 1,000 fish each at Aqua Greens.Kathleen Caulderwood/The Globe and Mail
When the plants are fully grown, they are removed from the aquaponic system and sold.Kathleen Caulderwood/The Globe and Mail