An Article written by John Reid for Aquaculture Magazine’s Dec.14/Jan.15 issue: “Grass Fed Fish”
The Aquaculture industry, other than for shellfish, is completely dependent on the animal feed industry that sustains it. This sounds almost silly to say this because it is so obvious, but few fully understand where their feed comes from, and the changes that are accelerating amongst all animal feeds as well as for aquaculture diets. This is kind of like the old adage that most people think that “food comes from the supermarket”, forgetting about the role of farms that produce our food. With aquaculture, many people forget that (excluding fish meal) the source of all of our aquaculture feeds is not from our feed suppliers, but our farms, and in particular our soil, water resources, and climate.
There are four key global trends that are colliding to create a great opportunity and challenge for animal protein production and especially within the aquaculture industry. The success of surmounting these trends will depend entirely on our feed sources. These four are: 1. the growing global demand for more meat protein, 2. skyrocketing population growth, 3. soil erosion, and 4. climate change factors like declining water availability, rising temperatures, and ocean acidification. You may be beginning to think this is an article about some doomsday scenario, it is not, but only because I will be so bold as to say, because we will have addressed a major shift in the kinds of fish we grow and the feeds we feed them. This article is not necessary a unique description of our challenges, but possibly a unique solution.
https://eepartners.egnyte.com/dl/6CZaWSIFvO/Grass_Fed_Fish_V14sD.pdf_
An Article with the National Aquaculture Law Center
Agricultural Law Research Project
Aquaculture and the Lacey Act
by Elizabeth R. Springsteen
March 2010