Hi! My name is Imri Ketzef, I am an 18-year-old student from Israel.
In school I majored Mariculture and Biology – Learning all about the Marine environment and our effect on it. During school we worked in cooperation with the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center which was located in our school. In addition, we founded a coral farming company named \”Aqua Coral\” which was exclusively operated by high school students including myself…
Beside my long-lasting passion for science, I also enjoy Poetry, Music, Theatre, Cinematography and Sports.
Tell us what the water concern in your country is!
Israel is a small country on the edge of the desert with scant amounts of water. Israel's water crisis has been gradually worsening for several reasons: 1. Israel is a semi-arid region with few sources of water. 2. the population is growing rapidly. 3. there have been several consecutive years of drought
This is what I think is one of the solutions for a sustainable future:Israel has 26,101 square kilometers of marine area. A negligible amount of this area is used for Maricultural purposes. My study offers a possible solution to Israel's water problem while harnessing it's unused marine territory. My project is an Integrated Fish & Algae Offshore marine farm which can provide high quality animal and plant protein using negligible amounts of fresh water and can partially replace inland beef, poultry, and green leafed vegetables production, Thereby saving crucial amounts of water.
Feasibility of Integrated Fish and Algae Offshore Farms
In my research I examined the potential of algae cultivation in close proximity to marine offshore fish cages, creating an integrated farm model, which produces animal and plant protein, using negligible quantities of freshwater resources. The results proved Ulva algae to be suitable for use as a biofilter, which reduces the environmental negative impact of offshore fish cages by assimilating excess nutrients and nitrogenous compounds emitted from fish production. Cultivation of algae and fish in an integrated system may reduce inland beef, poultry, and vegetable agriculture, thus significantly reducing the use of fresh water, potentially saving hundreds trillions of liters of water annually.
