EXPERIENCE AND RESEARCH

Fish and plants have followed me almost my whole life. With the age of six I got my first fishing rod and I caught my first trout in The Netherlands when I was seven. From there onwards I really fell in love with fish and everything connected to fish. Since then not one day has gone by without thinking about aquaculture or aquaponics. My interest was especially focused at that time on recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).

However, plants are in my life since the first thoughts. My passion for plant production started even earlier than for fish when I was replanting ornamental plants in my grandmother's backyard. Later on I had my own small greenhouse and grew all kinds of plants (in and outdoor) from chillies, to different strains of tomatos, even up to tobacco. Furthermore, during this time I made my first experiences with different types of hydroponics and alternative growing methods. 

At the age of nineteen I figured out what aquaponics is and that was a life changing moment! Aquaponics gave me the possibility to combine both of my passions. From that moment onwards I started to focus my educational career 100% on aquaponics. That's why I did a BSc. in agriculture with a specialization in plant production with a thesis in plant nutrition. Currently I´m working on a MSc. in aquaculture at Wageningen University and Research (The Netherlands).