Significant Aquaculture Innovation
I´m looking for information related with alternatives to convert aquaculture waste into a valuable by product. Specifically I´m talking about faecal matter from salmon farms that could be taken out before it gets to the bottom of the sea.
I´d really appreciate if anyone can help me.
The global aquaculture industry currently accounts for over 45% of all seafood consumed.
That figure has been projected to increase to 75% over the next 20 years. While the industry is truly on a dynamic growth path, it is nonetheless dangerously dependent upon fishmeal as a key protein constituent in fish and shrimp diets.
The aquaculture industry is not alone however, as cattle, poultry, pig and other intensive forms of animal production use fishmeal as a primary protein source in their diets. Currently ten countries produce 80% of all world fishmeal supply, and three of those suppliers are net importers of product, thereby reducing supply, not increasing it. These include the U.S. and China.
Fishmeal production reached heights of 4.4 million tonnes in 2002 and was consistently above 3.3 million tonnes between 2001 and 2005. A report providing the details may be reviewed here.
Production of fishmeal also decreased 20% in 2006, and prices rose from USD $750/metric tonne to over USD $1400/metric tonne. In 2007 it failed to exceed 2000 tonnes. Is this just a blip or is the downturn in production aligned with other trends? U.S. growers experienced four feed price increases within a 16 month period.
A staggering 25% of all world fish production goes into the low value added pursuits of fishmeal and fish oil production!
Due to the fact that the regions responsible for the majority of world supply are isolated geographically from major markets, every tonne of fishmeal travels an average of 5000 km before it reaches the end user. Obviously, particularly in the face of the present oil crisis, this has enormous economic implications for global intensive animal protein production markets.
As far as aquaculture is concerned, clearly the future demand for fishmeal is on a rapidly increasing track. With world fish stocks, and baitfish stocks in particular, in decline, the stage is set for a bottleneck that could severely limit industry growth.
In order to head off such a bottleneck, the global aquaculture industry must eliminate its dependence upon fishmeal (and fish oil) and develop a portfolio of sustainable dietary protein sources.
The very industry that has been called upon to bridge the gap between demand and wild supply is now dependent upon wild stocks of fish for the vast majority of its protein source .
In order to expand and succeed in the future, the industry must develop its independence from fishmeal and wild sources of feed.
As a theme, the Finfish blog has carried an array of postings about using ‘lower forms’ of life as dietary inputs. Diet ingredients must be produced from sustainable sources to allow the unhindered expansion of global seafood production.
What are other ways in which this problem might be countered? Lets think outside the square on this one!
Key criteria to consider as innovation drivers are as follows:
What are the other criteria we must include?
An international campaign aimed at forbidding the use of antibiotics in aquaculture was launched on 5 June in Chile. The project also demands that all sanitary standards regarding antibiotics for Chilean salmon consumers be brought in line with standards such as the United States’ FDA rules or those of the European Union.
Chile proposes a sole State agency, which would regulate and monitor the use of antibiotics both in human use and animal health. Another of the issues demanded is free access to historic information on the volumes and types of antibiotics currently imported and used by the salmon industry.
For years, environmental organisations have requested information from Chilean health organisations such as the National Fisheries Service, Sernapesca, but have never received an answer.
This campaign is aimed at controlling the use of antibiotics within the the bacterial resistance study launched by the United Nations’ World Health Organization.
What are appropriate principles for antibiotic use in aquaculture?
If we are going to be able to achieve the marked growth required to meet demand for fish what role must antibiotics play?
How can we effectively balance the valid concerns about over use and the needs for health management in large and dense captive fish populations?
The organic movement as represented by the Organic Trade Association have some strong views on these matters. The Organic view of the world can be reviewed here.
An interesting article on the trend from antibiotics to probiotics to prebiotics in humans could point the way towards sustainable practice in aquaculture. Please consider the article here.
What is the current state of the art for aquaculture? Are our aquaculture food, food supplements and drug companies experiencing any demand from producers for probiotics or prebiotics?
THE Chilean Government’s emergency salmon committee, convened in late April. Amongst other things the committee is calling for a comprehensive study to determine exactly how much salmon production Chilean waters can handle.
Chilean salmon farms produce, on average, 25 kilos per cubic metre, according to the Santiago-based environmental NGO Fudación Terram. In Norway, the world’s leading farmed salmon producer, the concentration is significantly lower: 15 kilos per cubic metre, it says.
Benjamin Witte’s Patagonian Times article provides further details on the Committee’s challenges and some hard hitting opinion from Terram.
What stocking densities are achievable with other species? Any insights on Barramundi available Greg?
