Green crab pests may yield cash BioMer to harvest crustaceans for chitosan in their shells used in variety of products BRETT BUNDALE BUSINESS REPORTER [email protected] It is a classic tale of turning garbage into gold. Or, in this case, turning a green crab infestation into a money-making enterprise. Local startup BioMer Innova¬tions plans to harvest green crabs for a valuable compound in their shell. The invasive crustaceans are threatening Nova Scotia’s coastal ecosystem, filling up lobster traps and forcing fishermen to truck the destructive critters to landfills. But BioMer Innovations, launched by four Saint Mary’s University students, plans to use the cold, hard shells of green crabs to make chitosan. “Chitosan is a biodegradable, bio compatible and non-toxic alternative to synthetic polymers that you would find in a whole bunch of different industries, BioMer Innovations co-founder Danny Williams said in an inter¬view Monday. The natural compound can be used instead of synthetic poly¬mers in products such as cosmet¬ics, toiletries and pharmaceutic¬als, Williams said. “There is currently an insuffi¬cient supply of chitosan because of such growing demand. He said the global chitosan market is projected to reach $21 billion by 2015. “A lot of industries are switch¬ing from using those toxic syn¬thetic polymers to using more organic alternatives such as chitosan. The European green crab first arrived in the waters off Nova Scotia in the 1950s. But the first wave of green crabs hailed from the warm waters of the Mediter¬ranean and were more laid back than their Nordic brethren. The invasive crabs that are doing damage now arrived in the mid-1980s from the ballast water of a ship outside Halifax Harbour. They come from Iceland and the Faroe Islands, between Norway and Iceland, and are more tough, voracious and aggressive. They have decimated vital eelgrass, taken a bite out of soft ¬shell clam populations and dam¬aged the ecology of the coastal ecosystem in the waters off south¬western Nova Scotia. “Lobster fishermen are pulling up green crabs in their traps, Williams said. “Green crabs are tricky little buggers because they go and eat bait out of fishermen’s traps, so not only do they reduce their lobster catch, but they end up as bycatch. Because green crabs are so destructive, fishermen are obliged to take the crustaceans to a dump rather than throw them back in the ocean . “We’ve determined that we could turn this invasive, waste species into something positive, Williams said. Although the startup is not yet operating, BioMer Innovations has teamed up with chemical engineers, pharmacologists, re¬search scientists and other experts to hone its business plan. “We have a laboratory at the university where we’d be able to put the green crab shells through a few different chemical proced¬ures to break down shells and produce chitosan, he said. But the first step is raising some capital. That should be easier after BioMer Innovations was awarded second place at the BMO Apex Business Plan Competition at the University of New Brunswick last weekend. “It was really exciting to emerge from our first competition with such a vote of confidence, Williams said. “We’re looking forward to our first round of fund¬ing and pushing the company forward. The idea for BioMer Innova¬tions grew out of a fourth-year entrepreneurship course through the Sobey School of Business last fall. Under the mentorship of pro¬fessor Ellen Farrell, Williams, Jessica Herron, Kirsten Osmond and Patrick Mitchell developed the business
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 16:44:00 +0000