October 23, 2009
Vitafish's tilapia project shuts down
The ambitious tilapia farming project of Belgium-based Vitafish has been shut down, and will be emptied of its remaining fish over the next 50 days.
Vitafish was declared bankrupt last August when it lost the support of its main investors. Company managing director Joost De Smedt blamed the misfortune on declining fish prices, in particular the low cost of cod from the Barents Sea and increased Icelandic and Norwegian quotas.
The effort to identify new investors has failed therefore a clear-out plan for the remaining 530 tonnes of fish has been decided on.
The EUR15 million (US$22.6 million) tilapia farming project claimed to be the largest closed recirculation system in the world when it was launched in 2006, and planned to produce 3,000 tonnes of fish per year.
