Alternative to fishing – cell-based fish from the bioreactor

Already about 90 percent of all fish stocks are considered maximally exploited or overfished, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. But as the world's population continues to grow, more and more people rely on fish as a source of protein.

Bluu GmbH – a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Research and Development Center for Marine and Cellular Biotechnology EMB, which is an associated center of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Individualized and Cell-Based Medical Engineering IMTE – has a solution to the problem. The company specializes in the production of cell-based fish, which is made from real fish cells and grown in a bioreactor. Unlike wild-caught fish, this is not at the expense of animal welfare.

Bluu Biosciences is the first company in Europe to specialize in the development and production of cell-based fish. Worldwide, there are currently only a handful of companies operating in this field. Bluu Biosciences is thus closing a gap in the market.

Just about everywhere today, more fish are caught than can naturally regenerate. This threatens the basic food supply of hundreds of millions of people. Cell-based fish, produced with the help of modern biotechnology, can make decisive contribution to secure the global supply of animal protein in the future.

"We see a fast-growing market here. The future belongs to products manufactured in a circular economy," says Dr. Sebastian Rakers, founder and managing director of Bluu GmbH.