Aquaculture: The Most Sustainable Protein Source

Listened to a television program on the ABC last night (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) which covered some of the themes being covered at the 2008 World Poultry Congress.  There are some interesting parallels in the issues that are being addressed in poultry and aquaculture - as aquaculture seeks to increase its scale and intensity of production.

One of the keynote speakers at the Conference, Professor David Farrell from the University of Queensland was interviewed about the key factors that have allowed the poultry industry to intensify its production so successfully. Professor Farrell identifies the following factors as key contributors:

• technology
• genetics
• feed
• management
• disease control

At the 4.20 minute mark in the video (see the link below) Professor Farrell reviews the conversion efficiency of the three major livestock industries.  He states the feed conversion ratios as:

• Poultry  - 1.7:1
• Pigs  - 2.2:1
• Cattle  - 7:1

This makes the peak feed conversion ratios in aquaculture of 0.8:1 look very good.

Can anyone help by pointing out the latest data on feed conversion ratio in aquaculture both in the lab and in the farm setting?

The video of the interview with Professor Farrell is available here. 

The World Poultry Congress site is here.

Tags: australia, beef, chicken, feed conversion, fish, pigs, queensland, video
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