E-FISHient, a new cultivated seafood startup, has been launched in Israel. After success in the cultivated meat field, BioMeat Foodtech, the publicly traded Israeli investment fund, has collaborated with the Volcani Institute – a governmental organization and officially an arm of the Ministry of Agriculture – to develop the cultivated fish meat company.
The Volcani Center, Israel’s national agricultural R&D center, will back the joint E-FISHient venture which will manufacture and market cultivated tilapia fish based on non-animal serum. The Nile tilapia is one of the most commonly grown fish species in global aquaculture – thus presenting a large market, while the serum itself is an additional product intended to serve the whole cultivated meat industry in general.
The BioMeat Foodtech partnership will hold the controlling share of the startup and be responsible for business development and funding of operations. The Volcani Institute, with 10% of the shares, will provide the company with the use of the Volcani facilities and development team.
Alt seafood in Israel
Israel continues to be a greenhouse of foodtech innovation and investment, including the Israeli cultivated meat consortium’s recent $18 million funding from the government’s Israel Innovation Authority. E-FISHient represents one of the country’s first forays into the cultivated seafood field, while another company, SimpliiGood, is developing a spirulina-based smoked salmon in the country.
“I’m proud of the opportunity to lead E-FISHient toward becoming a global player that spearheads innovation in the field of cultivated fish production. The huge ecological damage from the fishing industry, together with the expected growth in world population, call for an urgent solution that will supply clean, healthful, nutritious, ecologically sound, high-quality fish meat for us and for the sake of the planet,” explained the CEO of E-FISHient, Dana Levin.
