Solution to Fish Oil Limiter

One of the key factors that has driven the long term trend of increasing per capita fish intake across the globe is that fish consumption is promoted by nutritionists as a very important component of a healthy diet. Current thinking has targeted the Omega-3 fatty acid content of fish oils as a major contributor to the healthy diet aspects of fish eating.

Farmed fish require feed with specific protein and oil components in order to grow. Traditionally, the lion’s share of this has been derived from wild stocks of ‘feed fish’. However, even a cursory appreciation of the numbers and what we know about today’s feed conversion ratios make it apparent that it will not be sustainable to overcome the fish production gap using wild caught fish to feed farmed fish. Does the pressure on feed fish stocks mean that there is a prospect that Omega-3 fatty acids will disappear from farmed fish? Does this mean that a fundamental limiter exists that will prevent us from ever bridging the fish production gap?

Significant efforts are being made now to overcome this limiter with efforts being put into developing high protein grain-based replacements for feed fish (soy, lupins, etc). Genetically engineered plants which produce essential omega-3 fish oils could offer a new way of improving people’s diets, scientists working on an EU project said at a conference on ‘Incorporating Omega 3 in the food chain’. Long-chain fatty acids called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found mainly in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and herring, provide protection against cardiovascular diseases, slow down mental decline in the elderly and are essential for the healthy development of a baby’s brain in the womb.

Whilst experts recommend a daily intake of 450mg of omega-3 fatty acids, most adults barely manage half that amount. Among teenagers, the figure drops to just 100mg a day, and intake in low-income families is around 50mg per day less than in other families.

There are no naturally occurring plant species that have the capacity to synthesise long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. EPA and DHA are normally made by microscopic marine algae which are then eaten by small fish, passing the fatty acids into the food chain. Research conducted as part of the Lipgene project took key genes from algae and inserted them into oil seed. The results show that the plants were able to synthesise omega-3 fatty acids in their seed oils.

These outcomes show promise that GM-enhanced plant sources may be suitable suppliers of both protein and Omega-3 oils in manufactured aquaculture feed and that a sustainable route to overcoming the fish gap is potentially feasible.

More information about the Lipgene Project is available here.

We provide more resources for identifying innovation components for significant aquaculture innovation. Some examples of relevant innovation components found from these sources may be reviewed here.

Tags: aquaculture, aquaculture feed, crop, fish, fish oil, grain, Omega-3
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