British Columbia Innovation Council

Victoria-based Reef Safe Fish Inc. is a finalist in the BCIC -New Ventures Competition: Regional, and is vying for one of three cash prizes worth a total $60,000.

Reef Safe Fish is hoping to transform the saltwater aquarium and aquaculture industries with a closed-loop waste-recycling technology that filters fish waste and then combines it with fertilizer to produce fish food on-site. The company's initial product targets saltwater-aquarium fish breeders. With over 90 percent of saltwater-aquarium fish still being caught in the wild, there is a large demand for captive-bred fish, which would create a more sustainable aquarium trade. Reef Safe is also developing a larger scale model for the food-fish aquaculture industry.

Sibling co-founders Robert and Ashley Roulston entered the BCIC-New Ventures Competition last April and learned so much that they decided to enter the first regional competition, which began last October.

"The BCIC-New Ventures Competition: Regional "has also been a great way for us to connect with other entrepreneurs experiencing the same challenges as us," said Ashley. " Beyond the learning and networking, it has also pushed us to get organized in order to meet the deadlines set by the competition. We are moving faster than we would otherwise."

To win the competition, the Reef Safe Fish team must convince the BCIC-New Ventures judges that their business is commercially viable.

Winners will be announced February 24, 2011 in Kelowna, BC.

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