A series of patent documents outline a field of invention that may be part of the solution to the aquaculture feed protein and oil deficit. This deficit, derived from short supply of wild caught fish has the potential to undermine the growth of aquaculture.
Finfish discussed the problems with the global supply of fish meal here.
Microalgae (single celled algae or phytoplankton) represent the largest, but most poorly understood, kingdom of microorganisms on the earth. As plants are to terrestrial animals, microalgae represent the natural nutritional base and primary source of all the phytonutrients in the aquatic food chain.
As the primary producers in the aquatic food chain, microalgae are the source of many phytonutrients, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) precursors for the valuable nutritional component widely promoted as Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
Microalgae also represent a vast genetic resource, comprising in excess of 80,000 different species.
Yeast, filamentous fungi, and bacteria are also in the direct food chain of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. However, only a very few of these microbes, perhaps less than 10 species, have been exploited for aquaculture feeds.
These few species have been used primarily for historical reasons and ease of cultivation. They have not been chosen on the basis of any scientific evidence of superiority as nutritional or therapeutic supplements.
The marine environment is filled with bacteria and viruses that can attack fish and shellfish, thereby devastating aquaculture farms very quickly. Bacteria and viruses can also attack single celled microalgae, so these organisms have evolved biochemical mechanisms to defend themselves from such attacks. Such mechanisms may involve the secretion of probiotic compounds that inhibit bacterial growth or viral attachment.
Can you point to any additional material on algae as an aquaculture food source?
What do we know about optimising the economics of production?
What wholesale cost would the feed need to be produced at in order for the major feed companies to adopt this technology as a food component for aquaculture and other intensive forms of animal production?
The patent documents which describe this endeavour can be found here.
Advance Bionutrition Corp (the assignee of the patent is hot on the trail of non fish meal derived aquaculture feed.