FEATURE
Microalgae
Q&A with Reed Mariculture Inc founder and President Tim Reed by Olivia Holden, International Aquafeed Magazine
R
eed Mariculture Inc (RMI) was founded in 1995 by Tim Reed to grow "tank raised" bivalve shellfish. Tim's concept was to produce the first commercially available shellfish that was raised on land, not in the ocean, producing a product that would be completely safe from toxins such as red tide algae, bacteria blooms, viruses, sewage run-off, and toxic metals. Reed Mariculture developed tank raised shellfish technology for three years and during this same time developed and refined the technology for large-scale grow out of marine microalgae, which is the feed for shellfish. In 1998 RMI determined that there was a more lucrative market in selling the microalgae directly to other hatcheries and shut down all shellfish operations. RMI's core technology is a proprietary closed-system photobioreactor design that allows microalgae to be grown in laboratory sterile conditions. This technology is radically different than the open-pond technology used for growing freshwater species of microalgae such as Spirulina, Chlorella, Haematococcus, and Chlamydomonas. In 2003, RMI expanded its product focus from microalgae to a broader range of larviculture products with the introduction of live zooplankton (rotifers, copepods, and Mysid shrimp) and by distributing products such as ClorAm-X® (for ammonia control) and Otohime Feeds (Japanese weaning diets). In 2004, RMI entered the home aquarium market with the introduction of the PhytoFeast® products. Phyto-Feast is a super concentrate of marine microalgae formulated for feeding exotic filter feeders such as clams, corals, sponges, and tunicates that are popular in marine reef tanks. In 2005, RMI expanded their offerings
into the Marine Ornamental industry with the Reef Nutrition product line. This product line includes marine microalgae, macroalgae, rotifers, copepods, mysid shrimp. Reed Mariculture is now the world's largest producer of marine microalgae concentrates. The Instant Algae® larviculture feeds are used by over 500 hatcheries, universities, and marine ornamental operations in more than 70 countries around the world. We also produce zooplankton, copepods, and weaning feeds. I was able to talk at some length with RMI founder, Tim Reed about what captivated his interest in aquaculture and how his passion has been the main driver behind the expansion of Reed Mariculture Inc from its origins in 1995 to where it is today. IAF: Could you tell us a little bit about your background and what sparked an interest in the aquaculture industry? TR: What sparked my interest was discovering the amazing taste of razor clams! After college I was working on a factory trawler and on a trip to Chile I was introduced to razor clams. That fueled a dream to start a land-based farm to grow high-value bivalves to sell into the San Francisco market, which required large amounts of marine microalgae. IAF: You set up and founded Reed Mariculture in 1995. The company is now the world’s largest producer of marine microalgae concentrates used by over 500 hatcheries in more than 90 countries. Can you tell us a bit more about the genesis of the company and its evolution? TR: When Reed Mariculture Inc (RMI) was founded in 1995, my goal was to produce the
first commercially available, biosecure shellfish raised on land. We developed tank-raised shellfish technology for three years, and during this same time we developed and refined the technology for large-scale grow-out of marine microalgae - the feed for shellfish. RMI's core technology was and remains to this day a proprietary, closed-system photobioreactor design that allows microalgae to be grown in controlled conditions. In 1998 we determined that selling our microalgae directly to other hatcheries was a more lucrative market, and we shut down all shellfish operations. We innovated a line of refrigerated microalgae concentrates for hatcheries called Instant Algae® that provide “algae when you need it™.” In 2003 we expanded our larviculture product line with the introduction of live zooplankton (rotifers, copepods, and mysid shrimp), and by distributing products for ammonia control and Japanese weaning and juvenile diets. In 2004 RMI entered the home aquarium market with the introduction of the Phyto-Feast® products-super-concentrates of marine microalgae formulated for feeding coral, clams and other popular, marine reef tank filter feeders. We expanded into the marine ornamental industry with the Reef Nutrition® product line, which includes marine microalgae, macroalgae, rotifers, copepods, Mysis shrimp and other feeds. In 2011 Reed Mariculture launched a new product line, APBreed™, to provide customised solutions for the unique needs of aquarists, propagators and breeders based on our advanced hatchery products. IAF: A passion for the uses and applications of algae in aquaculture obviously lies at the heart of your work. Can you tell us more
34 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | September-October 2015