Shifting Baselines

Bugmeal to replace fishmeal?

We know it's wasteful to grind up one-third of our wild caught fish into fishmeal to feed it to pigs, chickens, and fish. But hope for our tiny fish might lie in an unlikely source: bugs.

Apparently, a group of scientists and at least one entrepreneur is taking the need to find a substitute for fishmeal seriously. According to Seafood.com News, there is a new interest in mass-producing insects as a sustainable protein source to replace fish meal in fish and livestock feeds.

Ernest Papadoyianis, president of Neptune Industries, said his company was searching for ways to eliminate one of the major bottlenecks in the aquaculture industry - reliance on fishmeal for protein in fish diets - when someone mentioned 'insects.'

Scientists at Mississippi State University (with one of the few insect rearing programs) began to make experimental bugmeal. Feeding trials began in the fall with hybrid striped bass. The bass responded the same way to pellets made from fishmeal as those made from insects. According to Lou D'Abramo, the professor conducting the trials:

"The early trial results indicate the fish have no real preference for one over the other. In the wild, fish do come to the surface to feed on dragonflies and other insects, so it makes sense that they will eat pellets made from insects."

And it might even result in less fishy fish, which Americans tend to like:

"Our evaluation of the samples of hybrid striped bass from the feeding trial indicated no difference in appearance, flavor or texture of the fish grown on the insect-based diet and those grown on the fish meal diet," said Patti Coggins, director of the sensory evaluation lab. "The only difference we found was that the fillets from the fish raised on the insect diet did not have a strong 'fishy' smell."

It's too bad Neptune's attempt at sustainability might not lead to any green marketing. Imagine reading a label proudly exclaiming its eco-friendly tilapia was RAISED ON INSECTS!