Aquaculture has faced sustainability issues because of the amount of fish protein it takes to raise marine fish to maturity in such a setting. It can take up to five pounds of wild fish to raise one pound of fish in aquaculture in some instances. For the first time, scientists have created a completely vegetarian diet for marine fish in aquaculture that has proven that a plant-based diet can support fast-growing carnivores such as sea bream and cobia to maturity as well as conventional diets of fish meal and fish oil. Nearly half of the world’s fish and shellfish are supplied by aquaculture which in turn has relied on wild-caught fish for feed. The newly developed diet would take the pressure off natural resources for support, while at the same time create a cleaner product. Fish on a vegetarian diet have levels of PCBs and mercury as much as 100 times lower than fish on traditional diets.
To receive relevant news stories with summaries provided by GAI Research & Insight, subscribe to Global AgDevelopments, our free bi-weekly enhanced eNews service