The CEO of Norwegian hatchery feed innovator Molofeed has resigned.
Marcell Boaventura held the position for just over three years during which time the Aqua-Spark backed company developed processes and products, scaled production and built an R&D aquaculture facility in Brazil.
"Despite my passion for the company, stepping down from my position in Molofeed comes timely," wrote Boaventura on LinkedIn. "I believe every change happens for the best, and I am confident the team at Molofeed will make the most out of the foundations we built to succeed and take the company to the next level in the most abundant way."
Investment group Aqua-Spark’s ploughed NOK 10 million (€861,000/$934,000) into Molofeed in 2019 to help address the challenge that shrimp and many marine fish species must be fed live feed as larvae.
This feed, largely artemia and rotifers, is a “limited, unstable and expensive” feed source for the hatchery industry, reliant on a small number of resources globally, Molofeed founder Ingmar Hogoy told IntraFish in 2019.
It has reduced efficiency and raised costs across many key farmed species, shrimp, seabass, cod and halibut to name a few, he said.
Molofeed created technology to effectively deliver “pre-digested” key ingredients to newly spawned fish and shrimp in the form of hydrolyzed proteins -- amino acids and peptides -- and packaged them in a microscopically small capsule, tiny enough for shrimp and fish larvae to consume and digest.
The ingredients are largely produced from byproducts of the Norwegian cod fishing industry delivered to Molofeed’s pilot plant in Bergen, Norway.
