May 11, 2010

US government grants research funds to Kona Blue

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is awarding Hawaiian fish farm company Kona Blue Water Farms Inc a US$242,889-Saltonstall-Kennedy grant to conduct research on alternative protein sources for aquaculture feeds.

The project will study three novel and sustainable protein sources as substitute for fishmeal in the diets of the company's brand of farmed Hawaiian yellowtail, Kona Kampachi. This fish is a sashimi-grade, marine finfish raised in the waters of Hawaii.

Kona Blue's three protein sources include microalgal by-products from biofuels production, a single-cell protein produced from food processing water and a fish protein filtered from the wastewater of fish processing facilities.

"This research addresses the fundamental challenge of developing marine fish diets that are both scalable, and sustainable. The study aligns closely with Kona Blue's commitment to continually strive to soften our footprint on the seas," company co-founder Neil Anthony Sims stated.

The firm will substitute protein sources at different ratios into the Hawaiian yellowtail diet, comparing growth rates, food conversion ratios and product quality to those fish fed a standard commercial diet.

"By using by-products from other processes, we can re-use resources, rather than deplete them. Not only do we lessen our reliance on Peruvian anchovies as a source of protein for our fish, but we also find value in by-products or effluents from other food processing or fuel systems," said Jennica Lowell, research manager for Kona Blue.

The research should begin in July. Its results will be shared with academics, the industry and the environmental and conservation groups via conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.

"Kona Blue aspires to use sound science to develop innovative solutions to the problems facing the oceans. It is imperative that we find alternative means of supplying healthful seafood to meet growing global demand," said Sims.

Founded in 2001 in Kailua-Kona, Kona Blue is the first integrated marine fish hatchery and open ocean mariculture operation in the US.