Aquaculturewithoutborders

Opportunities in aquaculture : Students become aquaculture entrepreneurs, aquaculture farm managers, hatchery managers, fishery officers, research officers, science officers, lecturers, quality control specialists, scientists and consultants – it’s a field with plenty of opportunity for growth…..(studyinternational.com)

Aquaculture without borders is working to links all players in aquaculture sector in order to boost fish production and ultimately to change lives. SUPPORT US TODAY.

(aquafeed.co.uk) With the increase of the fishmeal and soybean prices over the last decade, insect proteins have become a focus of research into novel alternative livestock feed ingredients. While several insect species have been investigated, the Black Soldier Fly (BSF; Hermetia illucens) remains one of the most credible options.

BSF, generally considered as a non-pest species, is distributed almost worldwide since the Second World War and is not known to carry any pathogenic agents, unlike the common housefly (Musca domestica).

The larvae can grow quickly and have an excellent feed rate. They can consume 25-500 mg of fresh matter/larva/day and feed on a wide range of substrates ranging from manures to food waste. A grow-out cycle takes 15 days to an average larva weight of 0.25g under optimal conditions (30oC) and the substrate/ waste load reduced by up to 70 percent (dry matter basis). The maggots have also been shown to remove pathogenic bacteria, reduce waste odours and to inhibit nuisance housefly oviposition; all valuable secondary sanitation outcomes.

The larvae have a high nutritional value; contingent on the substrate they were bred on, with crude protein levels ranging from 28 to 48 percent, and lipid levels from 12 to 42 percent. With the exception of omega-3 fatty acid, the lipid profile is broadly similar to fish meal and potential exists to augment fatty acid through the use of an appropriate feeds e.g. fish-offal. The essential amino acid profile of the insect meal meets the broad requirements of tilapias simplifying dietary formulation requirements……..

Aquaculture without borders is going to point out some issues based on already numerous reports and news  regarding floating fish cages in lake victoria.

According to professor Wellington Otieno , Findings show that cage aquaculture is a viable business on Lake Victoria, far better than use of canoes to hunt for wild fish while (Businesstoday)  noted that, this idea began as a solution to the plummeting fish populations in Lake Victoria,but the growing popularity of cage fish farming is now posing environmental problems of its own.  The practice could be harming the lake’s ecosystem due to the lack of guidelines to regulate it. The government promoted cage fish farming to address the diminishing fish stocks in the Lake – especially the tilapia species – whose shrinking numbers can only be described as catastrophic.

(News.mongabay): Fishermen, researchers, and government officials alike are
embracing cage aquaculture as a way to boost profits and fish supplies,
as well as give the lake’s free-swimming fish a reprieve.
However, cage fish farming has caused problems elsewhere in the world,
in part due to the use of chemicals and the release of waste products, such as dead fish, uneaten feed, and feces.

This “Gold rush” – to do cage farming in lake victoria has led to collaborative efforts
between KMFRI and its counterparts in Uganda and Tanzania to develop guidelines and policies that will govern cage aquaculture on Lake Victoria, which is a shared resource for the three countries.

Aquaculture without borders advocates for sustainable responsible aquaculture,
therefore the move by different institutions to develop New guidelines for this new industry is quite important to avoid irreversible ecological disaster.

(aquaculturewithoutborders.blog) . The driving force in aquaculture development is multifaceted based on its ultimate goal- either economic gain, foods security and proper nutrition. Players in this field range from commercial producers, rural folk and venture capitalists.

The unprecedented interest in aquaculture has been occasioned by the significant increase in demand for seafood products and paradigm shift in eating habits as far as protein sources are concerned. In recent years many organization have drummed support for better nutrition and to alleviate malnutrition in rural communities while those with huge capital continue the expansive endeavors to meet global demand. In the long run the common denominator is that, all players in aquaculture industry have different targets- economic gain or proper nutrition.

In the economic sense, to match the huge demand for seafood in major importing countries, massive investments have been channeled towards expensive , expansive and super intensive aquaculture systems – ocean or land based. Mariculture development is now taking a center stage as the next frontier because of limited land and land use restrictions especially in EU and North America. If it’s not yet happening, it’s not long before investors start leasing foreign EEZ for aquaculture development.

Marine based aquaculture is gaining momentum because of sustainability challenges in land based system however the future is uncertain because sustainability issues haven’t fully been addressed on open sea systems. On the other hand this industry in quite lucrative however investors are reluctant to venture in because of lack of enough experts, technical know-how and assurance in returns. With all these uncertainties a aquaculture is still expanding at an incredible rate.

Decades ago, aquaculture was confined to only extensive systems but now we have RAS, Intensive pond systems, Super intensive systems , cage culture and so on. Therefore aquaculture has made remarkable strides to get where it is, and still game on.

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