Aquaponics – Harlander student learned for a month at Start up in Iceland

Agriculture in the polar climate zone: The Icelandic start-up company Ísponica is concerned with the economic production of fish and cress in an aquaponics system. Harlander Marco Reiterlehner, a student at HLUW Yspertal, and his two thesis colleagues completed their internship there, financed by Erasmus+.

The interns’ daily work includes feeding and caring for the fish, growing, caring for and harvesting various types of cress, as well as expanding and improving the aquaponics system, a circulatory system in which aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (plant farming) are connected by a water cycle. The fish provide nutrients for the plants and the plants keep the water quality stable. Outside of work hours, students enjoyed typical geothermal swimming pools or hikes through the fast Arctic landscape. They were also able to exchange ideas with many international students on their trip.

With the knowledge they have acquired, the students successfully set up a small aquaponics system themselves in order to scientifically monitor it for their diploma thesis. “Aquaponics is definitely a pioneering method of food production and brings benefits for people and the environment, both on a local and global level,” says Reiterlehner.