If organic farming has taken off as a profitable, new food-oriented industry, why not organic fish farming? It's a rhetorical question the group of University of Michigan students behind North Coast Fisheries would like to answer.
MBA students Andrew Chamaj, Philip O’Niel, Aaron Skrocki and Matt Turner see a growing demand for fish around the world on a planet where pollution, over-fishing and invasive species are threatening aquatic populations and habitats.
"We see this as a tremendous amount of opportunity around the world," says Aaron Skrocki, CEO of North Coast Fisheries. He once worked for a fish-raising firm and says he saw a pent-up demand for high-quality fish.
The start-up plans to raise fish that are free of antibiotics, growth hormones and methyl mercury. This will provide fish native to the upper Midwest for both consumption at high-end restaurants and grocery stores, and also to stock ponds, lakes and other waterways. There is also potential for a side consulting business that specializes in raising fish and managing them.
The firm hopes to secure land in Jackson County next year and begin operations in 2011-12.
Source: Aaron Skrocki, CEO of North Coast Fisheries
Writer: Jon Zemke
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