Fish-based feed might be healthier than crop-based in Aquafarms

"salmon" by Andrea Pokrzywinski licensed under CC BY 2.0
salmon” by Andrea Pokrzywinski licensed under CC BY 2.0

Source: CBC News

In the recent decades, fish farming feed has become increasingly more plant-based in an effort to be more sustainable. New research shows however that fish-based feed for the raised fish could be more sustainable option both for consumers and for the environment.

Plant-based feed for fish often results in reduced nutrients of omega-3 fatty acids, which is often what draws consumers in the first place. It also results in greater environmental hazards, like runoff from industrial crop production.

Previously, fish-based feed was discouraged and even protested by environmentalists who argued that the fish used to make feed could be fed to people or used to sustain other wildlife. Overtime fish farmers dropped their fish-based feed from 24 percent in 2000 to 16 percent in 2008 and was predicted to drop to 7 percent by 2020. However, now the tables turn again, possibly reestablishing fish-feed as the primary source of food for farmed fish.

Read full story at: CBC News

Environment, Health, News
Environment, Health, News