A local startup is turning the harvest of lionfish – a venomous fish species – into economic opportunity for remote fishing communities in Belize. Milwaukee-based Olacoral acts as a bridge between more than 100 fishermen, a Belizean cooperative and the global market, where demand for lionfish is four times the supply, its founders say. The
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Olacoral CEO Anthony Valiulis catches a lionfish off the coast of Belize. Photo courtesy of Olacoral.[/caption]
By developing the lionfish supply chain, Olacoral provides artisanal fishermen with an additional revenue stream based on sustainable fishing practices. The 2,500 fishermen who participate in the artisanal fishing community in Belize typically generate revenue during the lobster and conch fishing season, Shefner added.
“Either (fishermen) went from having no income in the off season to having this, or they were illegally overfishing the lobster and conch outside of the season which is unsustainable for the populations there,” Shefner said. “This gives them an alternative to support families.”
Through Olacoral, small boat fisherman harvest lionfish during the off season and then sell their catch to a large cooperative which is responsible for processing the fish. Olacoral then purchases the lionfish from the cooperative before selling it to the global market.
Olacoral’s vision of leveraging sustainable fishing practices to generate economic impact is not far off from Agricycle’s mission, whose goal is to transform waste into opportunity.
Agricycle, which Shefner launched in 2017,