OUR SPAWNING
Aquagro Farms was established in early 2019 by Marc Ahrens and Pamela Cashman to establish itself as a leading player in the southern African tilapia aquaculture industry. Our driving force is to tangibly address growing food shortages by providing an affordable, healthy and tasty source of protein, while preserving and protecting our environment and reducing the need for over-fishing our oceans and other natural water areas.
OUR
MISSION
At AquaGro, we aim to provide an affordable, high quality, tasty source of protein while preserving the environment and reducing the need for overfishing natural water areas.
By utilising the latest technologies, designing efficient systems, and building in quality control from the outset, we aim to ensure the highest level customer satisfaction while building a strong and sustainable brand.
OUR FARM
Lying at the foot of the magnificent Magaliesberg Mountain range near the ever popular Hartbeespoort Dam, our property covers approximately 13 hectares of perfectly suited farmland. A temperate climate, ample good quality water and easy access positions us perfectly to achieve our goals.
The AquaGro farming complex is a fully integrated, custom designed and constructed indoor facility developed to sustainably produce the highest quality, nutritious and tasty tilapia. The grow-out buildings, rearing tanks and associated equipment and infrastructure have all been designed for scalable, efficient and cost effective replication for extensive future expansion.
OUR FACILITIES
At Aquagro Farms we have chosen to use indoor RAS (recirculating aquaculture systems) technologies for the rearing of our Tilapia.
RAS are closed loop tank and filtration systems that continually cycle and filter the water.
The advantages of indoor RAS over traditional pond or cage systems are numerous:
- Control over water quality, temperature and oxygenation levels resulting in high quality, high yield fish production year-round.
- Being an indoor facility, we have complete control over our fish rearing environment, and in conjunction with strict access control protocols, we can optimally control our bio-security.
- Low water requirement and minimal exchange of new water.
- Complete control over effluent and waste water.
- Reduced risk of external pathogens being introduced resulting in healthier fish and low mortality rates.
- Reduced feed costs as no feed is lost into the environment.
- Zero risk of fish finding their way into natural waterways.
- Zero discharge of water and waste into the environment.
All our rearing tanks are purpose designed and constructed, 66 000 litre multi-cell raceways with customized, highly efficient pumping, filtration, aeration and sterilization systems.
Advanced system monitoring technologies combined with multiple redundancy (back-up) provisions ensure reliable and continuous operations.
Professional, high quality metering and monitoring equipment ensures optimal water quality and quick responses to potential problems.
Advanced bio-security protocols are strictly observed with regular external audits for compliance to maintain fish health.
The preparation and processing of our fish (gutting, scaling, cleaning and ultimately filleting) prior to distribution will be done by modern, specialized fish processing machinery operated in a completely sterile and bio-secure facility.
A professional, purpose-built wastewater treatment plant will ensure maximum re-use of wastewater and zero discharge into the environment. All solid waste will be re-claimed and processed into high quality, organic compost for use on the farm and for sale into the market.
OUR FISH
ABOUT TILAPIA
We breed and raise Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus). This species was chosen due to its fast growth rate, high fillet to mass ratio, and above average hardiness and natural resistance to disease.
Tilapia is a traditional and favoured dish in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, as popular in rural communities as it is in affluent urban centres.
With a sweet, mild flavour and a firm, flaky texture, it’s packed with low-fat, high-quality protein and essential vitamins and nutrients that can help boost the immune system. It is a versatile fish that can be prepared in a wide variety of ways.
Our fish are guaranteed to be free of chemicals, antibiotics, growth hormones, preservatives, and potential contaminants such as mercury.
Our tilapia prepared as carpaccio at a local restaurant
Our tilapia prepared baked at a local restaurant
HEALTH & WELFARE
AquaGro is committed to the health and welfare of our fish and the biosecurity of our farming operation. We work in close partnership with our specialist fish veterinarian to ensure we maintain the highest levels in all areas of fish health and biosecurity. We also strive to employ the most humane treatment and harvesting methods.
OUR FUTURE
We are strongly motivated to becoming a leading player in the South African aquaculture industry and to contribute to the growth and success of the industry.
It is our ambition to ultimately become completely energy independent and carbon neutral by establishing a fit for purpose solar power generation facility.
The investment in a state of the art fish feed production facility using the latest in feed compositions and highest quality raw ingredients will allow us to produce and manage optimal feed quality with a consistent supply. We will focus aggressively on moving away from proteins generated from the wild caught fishing industry (fish meal) and support new environmentally friendly, cost effective alternatives that have and are being developed worldwide. An example of such a protein alternative is produced by the South African company AgriProtein, who use the larvae of black soldier flies to produce a high quality, sustainable and natural protein perfectly suited to aquaculture feed production.
Aquagro’s facilities are available to universities and aquaculture training facilities for practical training and research so as to grow the aquaculture industry in South Africa and expand the skills and knowledge to do so.
Dr. Gillian Taylor & students from Onderstepoort Veterinary School,
Students from Onderstepoort Veterinary School,
OUR RESPONSIBILITY
- To maintain the highest levels of environmental and corporate responsibility
- To treat our fish with care and respect as a sentient being
- To guarantee a safe and empowering workplace with ongoing training and skills development, particularly for women
- To grow our involvement and support in the social upliftment and welfare of our local communities
- To support deserving charities and remain committed and focused on doing our part to sustain and improve our environment and the planet on which we live.