What is the best way to farm fish for the world's consumption?

 

Everyone agrees fish adds to the equation of meeting global food needs, but there is a contest of ideas over what's the right way. It's more than the math of producing sufficiently and extends to the bigger picture of sustainability - for example, depleting fish resources being one of the chief concerns.

 

In the Asia-Pacific, we see that Chinese aquaculture players are now venturing further into the seas: marine aquaculture farms situated in deep waters and paired with wind power stations provide a peek into the next stage of Chinese aquaculture's development (page 12).

 

But, not all are on board with offshore aquaculture and have queried its merits. A "risky business with high operating costs," as described by Ben Belton, associate professor of international development at Michigan State University, concerning the method of raising "fish in huge submersible cages anchored far from land in the open ocean" (pages 4-5).

 

Preference-wise, the average consumer may be agnostic on whether land-based or open-sea aquaculture should bring the fish to the table. For fish consumers, there's a vested interest in quantity, quality, affordability and sustainability. But, apart from satiating their hunger, humans also judge by first impression: if a fish looks good, then it must be good for consumption.

 

That perception segues to the marketability of fish as human food. "In salmonids, flesh color is often an indication of freshness," write BASF Nutrition Ingredients' Jenny Huai and KP Chan (pages 8-9). "It is a vital consumer acceptance criterion and hence, determines the market value of fish." This is where the company's feed additive, BASF Lucantin® Pink CWD, plays a part: ensuring high stability of astaxanthin (a pigment produced by natural marine algae that conveys pink color to fish flesh) in feed, thus helping achieve "superior efficiency in fish flesh pigmentation".

 

Aquaculture, like terrestrial livestock production, has come under rising scrutiny as climate and environmental issues push the agenda for sustainability. However, this matter also extends beyond the confines of production and into the problem of unsold food and food waste.

 

Hence, fish that are produced sustainably must also bear pleasing appearances. What's produced for consumption must entice to that end.

 

The full article is published on the May 2024 issue of LIVESTOCK & FEED Business. To read the full report, please email to inquiry@efeedlink.com to request for a complimentary copy of the magazine, indicating your name, mailing address and title of the report.