We're in the last month of the semester before finals, I hope you're surviving the strong winds and heat wave that has been unrelenting. On a much cooler note, let's talk about.....aquaculture! What is aquaculture you ask? Put simply, it is farming aquatic organisms.
Given the increasing population and need for sustainable practices, aquaculture presents a solution. For example, a facility roughly the size of an airport runway could produce the equivalent of salmon produced by Norway. While there has been opponents against fish farming due to waste production, potential for harboring disease and problems associated with feed all hope is not lost!
Dr. Yonathan Zohar has a laboratory in Baltimore which has managed to spawn branzino and gilt-head seabream. The environment is kept clean so that the fish do not need antibiotics, chemicals or hormones to maintain health. To reduce detriment to the environment, water is filtered and recycled while any waste produced is broken down by bacteria. Additionally, scientists are developing new feed formulas made from natural ingredients such as algae instead of traditional feed which may contain fish oils.
Here's the article from NPR which also discusses another aqua farm in an industry setting:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/04/07/298333029/the-future-of-clean-green-fish-farming-could-be-indoor-factories
Thanks!
- Charles Quinto