Foraquaculture, it is time for innovation. Growing 12-fold in the past three decades and crucial to providing nutrition for the world’s population and protecting wild fish resources, the fish farming industry is now being called upon to adopt more sustainable practices. An urgent item on theFAO agenda as well.
Central is the welfare of the fish, the real driver of the business. Ensuring their health, rather than resorting to drugs, ensures optimal productions that prevent the development of resistance and the emergence of new diseases. Also urgently needed is the identification of new feeds, taking advantage of the high nutrient content of algae, insects and other animal by-products, to replace fishmeal and the now ubiquitous vegetable preparations from soybeans and corn. While the former exacerbates the depletion of natural fish resources, the latter poses economic risks due to fluctuating international quotations, as well as exposing carnivorous species to the risk of disease.
As in any economic sector, the need to reduce and properly manage waste, which can be translated into an energy resource, in the form of biogas, or fertilizer, also applies to aquaculture.
