by
Ioannis Zabetakis
The current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, according to the latest United Nations report. With roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population every year, the upward trend in population size is expected to continue, even assuming that fertility levels will continue to decline.
Aquaculture is the world's fastest growing food sector, surpassing the global capture fisheries production in 2014. It provides more than 50 percent of the food supply to humans, however, it poses several environmental concerns. Aquaculture feed draws on 70 percent of the world's fishmeal and fish oil, which is obtained from small, ocean-caught fish such as anchovies, sardines, herring, menhaden, and mackerel, that are essential to the lower end of the marine food chain.
Analysts project that by 2040, the demand for fishmeal and fish oil will exceed supply. Aquafeeds also draw on large amounts of soy and corn from industrial farms, which pose other environmental concerns due to the use of fertilizers and potential runoff into rivers, lakes and coastal waters. In addition, aquafeeds may trigger nutrient pollution in aquaculture effluent, as fish are unable to fully digest soy and corn, which are major feed ingredients.
GM plants
In order to address these problems, current research focuses on feeding farmed salmon feeds made from genetically modified (GM) crops with the aim to increase the nutritional value of the fish. These GM feeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids in order to enrich the omega-3 levels in the salmon. A gene from a type of marine algae has been added to a camelina plant to produce the omega-3 enriched fish oil. Lab tests show that fish fed on this oil have boosted levels of omega-3. The question that the researchers are now trying to answer is whether the same happens on a real fish farm.
Read the full article in the International Aquafeed magazine online, HERE.
The current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, according to the latest United Nations report. With roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population every year, the upward trend in population size is expected to continue, even assuming that fertility levels will continue to decline.
Aquaculture is the world's fastest growing food sector, surpassing the global capture fisheries production in 2014. It provides more than 50 percent of the food supply to humans, however, it poses several environmental concerns. Aquaculture feed draws on 70 percent of the world's fishmeal and fish oil, which is obtained from small, ocean-caught fish such as anchovies, sardines, herring, menhaden, and mackerel, that are essential to the lower end of the marine food chain.
Analysts project that by 2040, the demand for fishmeal and fish oil will exceed supply. Aquafeeds also draw on large amounts of soy and corn from industrial farms, which pose other environmental concerns due to the use of fertilizers and potential runoff into rivers, lakes and coastal waters. In addition, aquafeeds may trigger nutrient pollution in aquaculture effluent, as fish are unable to fully digest soy and corn, which are major feed ingredients.
GM plants
In order to address these problems, current research focuses on feeding farmed salmon feeds made from genetically modified (GM) crops with the aim to increase the nutritional value of the fish. These GM feeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids in order to enrich the omega-3 levels in the salmon. A gene from a type of marine algae has been added to a camelina plant to produce the omega-3 enriched fish oil. Lab tests show that fish fed on this oil have boosted levels of omega-3. The question that the researchers are now trying to answer is whether the same happens on a real fish farm.
Read the full article in the International Aquafeed magazine online, HERE.
The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd
For additional daily news from aquaculture around the world: aquaculture-news
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