Brazil''s soy producer develops sustainable fish feed

Brazilian soy company Imcopa and Rio Grande Federal University Foundation (Furg) have developed a sustainable source of farmed fish feed.

The product, which is oil extracted from seaweed developed by Imcopa and Furg, is able to reduce animal dung toxicity, decreases predatory fishery, helps freshwater saving and also absorbs carbon gas.

Imcopa said oil from micro-seaweeds is capable of improving farmed fish feeding with omega-3 and 6 fatty acids.

The objective is to replace fish oil with a less aggressive and sustainable alternative. According to the European Parliament in 2005 the world’s fish oil production, most of which goes into fish feed, is nearly 1.5 million tonnes per year.

The practice of using low-value species such as anchovies and sardines for fish feed is wasteful and unsustainable, as 10 pounds of anchovies or sardine produce just one pound of salmon.

With US$10 million invested in seaweed studies, Imcopa will take three years to conclude the research started in May 2008. Osires de Melo, Imcopa market developing manager and project coordinator, said the company is currently learning which the best feeding method is.

When the research is concluded, fatty acids can be extracted from the seaweeds and be mixed with soy flour and soy oil, de Melo said.

Imcopa is currently studying five different species of seaweed, while another part of the project is developed at Furg. Food engineer Dr. Jorge Alberto Costa said fish capability on digesting seaweeds is 90 percent, indicating a lower environmental pollution.