04/01/2016: Methane-guzzling bacteria could feed fish, pets, even people

The small tank of pink liquid bubbling away on a lab counter looks a little like a vat of Pepto-Bismol, CBC News reports.

Even if you didn't know if was full of Methylococcus capsulatus, a type of bacteria, you probably wouldn't be tempted to make a meal of the frothy soup. But it could make a tasty treat for a salmon.

"These are the organisms themselves — single cells — growing in very high density, so there's lots and lots of cells in that tank," says Lori Giver, vice-president of biological engineering at Calysta, a biotechnology company based in Menlo Park near San Francisco.

Normally, she says, you'd find these microbes in the wild munching on methane from decomposing vegetation.
 

Just add Methylococcus capsulatus (Image: Sean)

In this lab researchers pipe methane into the tank to feed the bacteria. Then they kill them with heat and dry them, creating a fine pink powder.

The company shapes the powder into pellets, and there you have it: fish food.

"The problem with aquaculture" says Alan Shaw, Calysta's president and CEO, "is you have to feed fish other fish before we can eat them. That's not sustainable … we're basically tapping this planet dry."

Read the full article 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

04/01/2016: One in six people eating more fish than a year ago

A survey for sustainable seafood ecolabel, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has found that one in six people (17%) in the UK are eating more fish and seafood than they were a year ago, with most of them (65%) saying they have increased their fish intake because they are trying to eat more healthily.

Fish and seafood are low in fat and high in protein, and have long been hailed for a host of health benefits. The NHS recommends that a healthy diet should include at least two portions of fish a week, including one portion of oily fish, which contains high levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and is thought to help prevent heart disease.
   
Two thirds of people (65%) who reported eating more fish these days, said the change in their diet had been motivated by trying to eat more healthily, while other reasons included an effort to cook or eat a wider variety of dishes (42%). One third of people who were eating more fish (33%) said it was because they had reduced the amount of meat they eat, though just 2 percent said they had become pescatarian or cut meat out of their diet altogether.
        

Fish must be good for you - how many obese otters do you know? (Image: Tambako The Jaguar)

Toby Middleton, Programme Director for MSC in the UK, said: "At this time of year, many of us resolve to eat more healthily or try new things, and incorporating more fish in our diets can be a good way to achieve both goals. But our poll took place before New Year’s resolutions were made, so clearly for a lot of people the switch to eating more fish is not just for January - there seems to be a growing, year-round interest in ‘meat-free Mondays’, for example, as people try to cut back on the amount of meat they eat, without becoming out-and-out vegetarians.

Healthy oceans as well as healthy diets
"As demand for seafood increases, so does the need to protect our oceans from overfishing. That means it’s increasingly important to ensure that the fish we eat is caught sustainably, so that future seafood supplies and the marine environment are safeguarded," added Mr Middleton.

"Consumers can play their part by choosing seafood with the blue MSC ecolabel”.

When shoppers choose products with the MSC ecolabel, they reward the fisheries that are committed to sustainable sourcing, and incentivises others to improve their practices, helping to ensure that life in our oceans is safeguarded for the future.

Almost one in four full-time students (24%) and more than one in five Londoners (22%) polled by YouGov on behalf of the MSC said they were eating more fish these days. People living in households without children were also more likely to have stepped-up their fish consumption (20%).

Visit the MSC site 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

04/01/2016: VIDEO: Aquaculture without Frontiers changing lives in southern India

In Vakkom in the south of India, Aquaculture without Frontiers is helping turn around the lives of people facing poverty due to the collapse of the local coir industry.

 
 
Visit the AwF site HERE.

And access their YouTube channel 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