The starfish’s ability to regenerate limbs has drawn the attention of Innovactiv, a Quebec company that specializes in supplying ingredients to the makers of nutritional supplements and cosmetics.
Stephen Stewart, is a former mussel fisherman from Tracadie, Prince Edward Island, Canada, has a contract to “milk” starfish; extracting some of the regeneration fluid inside the creatures. The starfish “milk” is used in a line of anti-aging makeup and skin cream marketed under the “Juventide” brand.
"If they lose an arm, they grow a new one. If you break a starfish in two, it becomes two starfish.” Stewart told the CBC. “So it's all about the regeneration fluid that's inside the starfish.”
Starfish, also known as sea stars, rely on coelomic fluid, which functions like blood to carry nutrients to body parts. The function of this fluid is currently being studied by scientists who hope to better understand the regeneration process.
Back on PEI, Stewart and his crew drag a trailer from port to port collecting starfish from local mussel men, who pick the starfish off the ropes of their mussel farm. Starfish prey on shellfish.
The milking process is completely benign, according to Stewart. Starfish are placed on an upright conveyor belt that allows the coelomic liquid to run out of the fish onto a metal tray. To prove the gentleness of the process, a TV reporter ran his fingers through the line the starfish pass throug and found there was no crushing, squeezing, or pulling.
The starfish liquid is triple-filtered, frozen, and shipped to Quebec for processing. The drained starfish are then returned to the water.
"You take a little fluid out of them. They go back out in the water. It's only a matter of days and they're back to 100 percent again,” Stewart said.
This means that while there are millions of starfish out there, the same starfish could be milked continually over their natural lifespan, providing an endless resource.
Innovactiv CEO Patrice Dionne told the CBC, "We are just at the beginning of something that we think can be very big."
